Watch With Jen™

Friendly, genuine, and laid-back, Courtney Howard is as easy to talk to in real life as she is on Twitter. Recorded in the last week of May (and before the vital protests and current events began), in this wide-ranging exchange, Courtney discusses her background in film and the interesting road that led her to write about movies as well as some of the films she's currently watching in quarantine.Veering off-topic for a terrifically fun segment about '80s music, at the end of the episode, Jen took the opportunity to ask the devoted nail polish collector about some of her favorite polishes (including 2 that tie in with film).Originally Posted on Patreon (6/18/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38377839Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

A talented, thoughtful writer, Peter Avellino's long-form essays on the movies that fascinate and frustrate him make his blog Mr. Peel's Sardine Liqueur a must-read for cinephiles. One of Jen's first friends on Twitter, it was such a pleasure for her to talk to Peter live and in-person through the magic of Skype and she knows you'll enjoy this chat about Peter's quest to hunt for buried treasure as he unearths great streaming library finds, how and why certain films compel him to write about them, and movies in general. This is Jen's first time including an epilogue or post-script after their conversation and if you listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple, Google Play, or Stitcher, etc., please check back to her Patreon's original upload of this episode to visit some of the links below so you can check out Peter's writing as well as some of the topics and titles they mentioned throughout.Originally Posted on Patreon (6/8/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38027546Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

From her early days learning how to keep readers interested with creative letter writing to what life is really like for critics when they show up for a film festival, Jen Johans greatly enjoyed her wide-ranging conversation with the talented and always friendly New York based freelance writer Tomris Laffly.A fellow fan of Steven Spielberg's often overlooked film The Terminal, in this episode, Tomris not only shares some great ideas for art and classic movies to watch but also two apps that will give us the opportunity to watch with friends long-distance that you just might want to check out right now.Originally Posted on Patreon (6/1/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/37791727Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

The kind, wise, quick-witted, and talented critic Nell Minow of MovieMom.com clicks so quickly with Jen in this episode that this half-hour flies right by. In fact, Jen agreed with her taste so often that she's sure she said the phrase "I love that" or "love it" at least thirty times. From Turner Classic Movies and outstanding film recommendations for families to a thoughtful discussion about writing reviews online and her adventures seeing movies reel-to-reel at the Library of Congress, Episode 6 is sure to delight film lovers.Originally Posted on Patreon (4/30/20) with links to topics & films mentioned here.Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

The human embodiment of sunshine, Jen joins freelance illustrator, blogger, and film fan Kate Gabrielle for a fun conversation covering a wide variety of topics including Target, the power of perfume, Kate's new classic movie game show Box Office Draw on YouTube, the creative ideas you have in the shower, Dante's Peak, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin movies, the little details you'll find in the films of Truffaut, fan letters, and what Alain Delon has in common with Arnold Schwarzenegger.Note: There were technical difficulties with the recording so format the finished audio isn't quite as polished and clear as the other podcasts you've heard so far. Thank you in advance for your understanding!Originally posted on Patreon (4/17/20): https://www.patreon.com/posts/watch-with-jen-5-36101751Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

Jen joins her brother from another Illinois mother - actor, writer, Second City teacher, and Game Show Network Get a Clue & Daily Draw host Rob Belushi - for a fun Heat, Tombstone, and Scorsese movie quote filled wide ranging discussion about their mutual film obsessions, unputdownable books and the authors who wrote them, the great Joe Pesci, creative friends, Kurt Russell, and Rachel Maddow.Note: Originally posted on Patreon (4/16/20) with links here.Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

In this episode, host Jen Johans joins one of her oldest Twitter friends, the incredibly talented and delightful podcaster, Indiewire TV editor, and freelance entertainment writer Kristen Lopez for a lively chat about Turner Classic Movies, disability representation onscreen, film books, her podcast Ticklish Business, as well as her work fostering kittens until they're ready for adoption.Originally Posted on Patreon (4/14/20): https://www.patreon.com/posts/36015522Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

Enjoy a thoughtful conversation with the always entertaining, warm, passionate, and talented freelance film and TV journalist Candice Frederick. A writer who's contributed to numerous publications including Harper's Bazaar & The New York Times, Candice discusses everything from therapeutic cooking to the joy of comfort movies like Pretty in Pink as well as how she's adapting to quarantine life.Originally Published on Patreon (4/8/20): https://www.patreon.com/posts/35760814Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

If her main podcast Watch With Jen is the studio track with lots of research and a dozen takes to get the right sound, then Jen's sister podcast Watch With Jen & Friends is the fun, live acoustic version where each week, she calls up a friend and they just talk movies and riff.Today's guest is Jordan Harper. A brilliant author with a quick, fresh wit, really cool taste, and a laid back conversationalist, it's inspiring to hear him wax about everything from MTV's The Challenge to Japanese women in prison films with the reverence most would save for Fellini and Bergman. Definitely a great way to open up this series - Jordan's first visit won't be his last.Originally published on Patreon (4/5/20): https://www.patreon.com/posts/35683689Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

A talented actor turned writer-director, from shooting a TV movie in his teens alongside Oscar winners to voicing Disney's Peter Pan to writing a film for actors Don Cheadle and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to helming his own well-respected indies, Blayne Weaver has had an extraordinary career.Jen first befriended Blayne roughly ten years ago, after she saw, loved, and reviewed his romantic comedy Weather Girl and then watched him have the most polite (and justified) freakout known to man in Paul Osborne's film festival documentary Official Rejection. She's been looking forward to having him on the show since she launched it back in March.In this lively discussion, Blayne regales us with great behind-the-scenes stories from three decades of making movies, discusses the difficulties of directing a Christmas film in the middle of the summer (and in the middle of a pandemic!), and breaks down his influences from James Bond to Batman. A terrifically fun chat, there's something for everyone in this episode.Originally Posted on Patreon on 7/31/20 here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39931225