The Playlist Podcast Network

Recently, Amy Ryan joined The Playlist Podcast to talk about her role in “Worth,” starring opposite Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci, the film’s depiction of 9/11 and its aftermath, the chances of “The Office” returning, as well as her next project with filmmaker Ari Aster, "Disappointment Blvd."

Bassam Tariq joins The Playlist Podcast to talk about “Mogul Mowgli,” which marks the filmmaker’s narrative feature debut. We talk about the extensive editing process, the director’s relationship with Riz Ahmed, and what led to them working together on this film. And yes, we definitely do talk about Tariq’s upcoming project, the new “Blade” reboot from Marvel Studios starring Mahershala Ali. While he can’t give us many details, he does talk about his surprise at landing the gig and what he hopes to bring to the franchise. 

The ‘80s were a wonderful era if you were a film-loving child. Studios were less concerned with coddling children and decided to release a stream of films that truly traumatized young people. We’re not talking about R-rated features, either. Back in the ‘80s, a PG film could be a fun romp suitable for all ages, or it could be a scary, dark, twisted film that seemed okay for children but ended up not being appropriate at all. For this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles conned Mike and Brian into watching the 1986 animated film, “Transformers: The Movie" and to discuss the era of kids films that left lasting scars on them. 

It should be a point of pride for any filmmaker who can be credited for “saving” a cinematic franchise. However, Martin Campbell sits in the singular position of having achieved this twice: when the James Bond franchise awoke from a six-year hiatus where there was no longer a Cold War to fight, and the interest in the character was uncertain, Campbell introduced the world to Pierce Brosnan in 1995’s “GoldenEye,” which went on to be a smash hit at the box office, and remains frequently cited as a fan favorite Bond film. The exact same can be said of 2006’s “Casino Royale,” which rebooted the series, solidified that a Bond film can be many different things, made Daniel Craig a cinematic icon, and was as much of a hit at the box office and among fans as any of the best Bond films. Campbell, a New Zealand native, came up in London as a television director in the ‘70s, including credits on five episodes of the crime-action drama “The Professionals.” His best-known work, however, came in 1985 with the massively acclaimed miniseries “Edge of Darkness,” starring Bob Peck and Joanne Whalley. Still to this day regarded as one of the greatest pieces of British television ever aired, “Edge of Darkness” earned Campbell the BAFTA TV Award for Best Director. Campbell also helmed one of the great episodes of American television with the first season “Homicide: Life on the Street” episode “Three Men and Adena.” Since “GoldenEye,” Campbell has maintained a steady resume of work in film, from “The Mask of Zorro,” to “Vertical Limit,” to a 2010 American adaptation of “Edge of Darkness.” Campbell’s latest film, “The Protégé,” stars Maggie Q as Anna, an assassin raised by another killer, Moody (Samuel L. Jackson). After her mentor and surrogate father is killed, Anna tracks down Rembrandt (Michael Keaton) to avenge his death, in the process confronting her own history as a killer. Campbell discussed his latest action thriller, which is in cinemas now, as well as what keeps the director going after more than 40 years directing action sequences that always feel like they’re something new. Given that he is also the de facto master of introducing a new Bond to audiences, and with Daniel Craig’s swan song, “No Time to Die,” on the horizon, we had to get Campbell’s thoughts on what the next Bond could look like, and what type of scenarios he might be placed in today. During our interview with Martin Campbell, we dive deep into the propulsive fight sequences that “The Protégé” revels in, how the director utilized Bulgaria as a facsimile for the streets of Vietnam, and more! “The Protégé” is in theaters now. Additional reporting by Brody Serravalli

Jonathan Levine admits that he’s typically known for directing comedy features. However, when you watch his new limited TV series, “Nine Perfect Strangers,” you are going to see the filmmaker spread his wings a bit more by taking on his most ambitious project to date. And in this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Levine talks about taking on his first major TV gig for the Hulu series and why “Nine Perfect Strangers” was far from a simple story to tell.

This week on the podcast, we have the filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, the director of “District 9,” “Elysium,” “Chappie,” and his upcoming IFC Midnight film, “Demonic.” In this episode, Blomkamp tells us all about the creation, conception, and shooting of “Demonic,” his attempts to bring “Alien 5” to the screen—he thinks it's deader than Dillinger, by the way— a little bit about “Robocop” and touches upon perhaps more films in the “Elysium” universe, but also a sequel to “District 9” which he is now actively working on. All that in more in a conversation that spans about 40-some minutes. Enjoy

HBO’s “Westworld” with her husband, Jonathan Nolan. Having now guided the dystopian sci-fi series through three critically acclaimed seasons, Joy found herself in the director’s chair for the first time, directing the season two episode “The Riddle of the Sphinx.” “I learned a lot about my directorial style,” said Joy about her work on the episode, “which is, before I even start prep, I normally have the whole [episode/movie] cut together in my head. When I walk the crew through a location, I act out and pre-block everything, and I also tend to talk about, not the technical aspects, but the emotional feeling and intent behind the scene.” It was only a matter of time before Joy’s talents saw her at the helm of a feature film, and she got to do just that with this year’s “Reminiscence,” from a Blacklist-certified screenplay written by Joy, and purchased all the way back in 2013. Placed firmly in Joy’s established wheelhouse of science fiction, “Reminiscence” stars Hugh Jackman as Nick Bannister, a private investigator of the mind in Miami, who helps clients recover lost memories using a machine that brings the memories themselves to life. With an eight-year gap from the screenplay’s purchase to the release of the final product, there’s potential for the script to radically change, but in the case of “Reminiscence,” it was “not that much, except some of the worldbuilding,” according to Joy. “Memory is lovely, it’s a way of time travel that we can all experience, but we can’t live there, the spaceship does not hold,” said Joy. “Maybe that’s a good reason why memory does organically fade, why the machine does not exist. We cannot hold ourselves in a perfect simulation of the past. And I think that if you are experiencing a perfect simulation of [your] past, it’s probably a sign that you are making something up. That you have overly idealized a moment so much that you have turned it into a story.” “Reminiscence” will also provide “Westworld” fans with more thought-provoking sci-fi as they eagerly await the fourth season of the hit HBO series, the latter of which Joy was able to provide a brief, but encouraging update on. “[Jonathan] isn’t here and he’s always like ‘don’t say this or say that,’ so I have to be very careful,” said Joy. “I will say we know how ‘Westworld’ ends, but right now I’m focusing on the fourth season, and there will be some new world situations coming on that I’m very excited about. I might get in trouble [for saying that], but I’m married to the person who would be mad at me, so there’s really not much he can do.” During our insightful conversation with Lisa Joy, we get into the philosophy and making of “Reminiscence,” her directorial debut on "Westworld," how she taught herself guitar and became pen pals with some of her favorite writers during the lockdown, which cut of “Blade Runner” she may or may not prefer, and much more! “Reminiscence” arrives in theaters on August 20th, and will make its one-month streaming debut on HBO Max on the same day.

On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we’re joined by filmmaker Ferdinando Filomarino, the director of the new Netflix thriller, “Beckett," starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander. You can hear us talk more about “Beckett,” the underrated skills of Boyd Holbrook, and the future of the theatrical experience in our discussion.

"Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.” On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we have on writer, director and actor Janicza Bravo, who directed and co-wrote A24's Sundance indie "Zola." Delayed by a year because of the pandemic, "Zola" finally came out earlier this summer and now, the film arrives on DVD and Blu-ray (plus Digital) on August 14. If you don't know "Zola," it is an insane ride that's nightmarish yet entertaining. Based on the viral 148-tweet Twitter thread from Detroit waitress A’Ziah “Zola” King about her wild road trip to Florida, "Zola" centers on that title character (newcomer Taylour Paige), a Detroit waitress, strikes up a new friendship with a customer, Stefani (Riley Keough), who seduces her to join a weekend of dancing and partying in Florida. But that glamorous trip full of “hoeism” rapidly transforms into a 48-hour journey into something much darker.  "Zola" arrives on DVD and Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) September 14 from Lionsgate and Playlist contributor Sharronda Williams spoke to Bravo about the ins and outs of her complex, dark and comical movie. 

There are few performers who manage to maintain a high profile in the public eye, and who are perpetually coveted by filmmakers, in the way that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has. Having started as a child actor in hit films like “A River Runs Through It” and “Angels in the Outfield,” Gordon-Levitt came into adulthood while starring in the iconic sitcom “3rd Rock from the Sun” and the fan-favorite rom-com “10 Things I Hate About You.” It was in the 2000s where his star rose into the stratosphere, turning in widely acclaimed work in films such as “Mysterious Skin,” “Inception,” and his frequent collaborations with Rian Johnson, including the lead roles in “Brick” and “Looper.” This is all without mentioning his Golden Globe-nominated performances in “(500) Days of Summer” and “50/50,” or his directorial debut firestorm, “Don Jon,” which Gordon-Levitt also wrote and starred in, or the fact that Gordon-Levitt is as talented a musician and singer as he is a performer and filmmaker. With a huge resume of beloved films under his belt, Gordon-Levitt has been somewhat absent from our screens recently, with his biggest acting credits in the past few years being “Snowden,” “Project Power,” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The actor also began to shift more of his efforts towards ramping up operations on HITRECORD, a collaborative media platform owned by Gordon-Levitt that fosters collaboration between its users as well as Gordon-Levitt himself. For example, one user might create a short animation, which can then be “remixed” by another user who adds original music, a third user who does voiceover narration, and so on, until the original submission has turned into a collaborative, complete project. HITRECORD now boasts a user base of over 80,000 people and pulls in about 1,000 pieces of original, user-created media every day. However HITRECORD isn't the sole reason for Gordon-Levitt's absence from the silver screen and it just so happens to serve as the genesis for his latest venture, "Mr. Corman:" parenthood. Writing, starring in, and even directing eight episodes of the 10-part miniseries which streams on Apple TV+ this summer, Gordon-Levitt, now 40, reflects on his life and the new perspective that comes with fatherhood through the lens of an alternate reality. He plays Josh Corman, a middle school teacher in San Fernando who struggles with a crisis of conscience when he considers what might have been if he had pursued a musical career instead of becoming a teacher. You can hear all about “Mr. Corman”, including why it was essential to bring additional writers on board, how the arrival of COVID-19 affected the show’s scripts while it was already in production, and how becoming a real-life father directly influenced the inception of the show. The first two episodes of “Mr. Corman” are available now on Apple TV+, and the remaining episodes will debut on the platform weekly, beginning this Friday, August 13th.