The Playlist Podcast Network

A great comic book movie requires a lot of elements to fall into place. You need a great special effects team, at least one compelling hero or antihero to rally behind for two hours, and a snappy script peppered with engaging action. However, most of all, you need a fearless and endlessly inventive director bringing all of the other pieces together. Without fail, the greatest comic book films have had extraordinary creatives at the helm, whether it be Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy Sam Raimi with “Spider-Man,” James Mangold with “Logan”...or James Gunn when he successfully brought the Guardians of the Galaxy to life catapulting them from obscure to iconic in the public eye overnight instantly becoming  MCU fan favorites. Seven years later, Gunn has done it again with his quasi-reboot of the big-screen version of DC’s Suicide Squad, “The Suicide Squad.” Putting the definitive article at the front of his title is no mistake; by extracting Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and a handful of other characters from previous films and transplanting them into a new story with an otherwise completely blank slate cast, Gunn’s latest film finally gives the enduring antihero franchise the explosive, violent, dark cinematic representation that it truly deserves. Set after, but also separate from, 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” the film centers on a group of inmates in Belle Reve Penitentiary, including Quinn, Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), and King Shark (Sylvester Stallone). Inducted into Task Force X in exchange for reduced/suspended sentences and other arrangements, the Suicide Squad are sent to a laboratory on Corto Maltese in order to destroy it, bury government secrets, and find themselves in conflict with Starro, a giant alien starfish. “What separates this movie from Guardians of the Galaxy is that [in Guardians] at the beginning we know they’re probably good guys,” said Gunn on how the process of crafting a film around not-so-good-guys differs from when you craft one around a group of heroes. “When Rocket says he’s gonna shoot Drax’s face off, we don’t really believe him, but when someone says they’re gonna kill someone in this movie, they might, and sometimes do.” When it comes to how Gunn attached himself to such a different group this time around, it was easy for him. “There’s a lot of loss here,” said Gunn. “Some of these characters are redeemable and some are not. We don’t know who’s going to show some heart, who’s going to die, who’s going to live. And it is those stakes that make it exciting for me to tell this story.” Elaborating further on the bond he creates with his characters, Gunn added, “I feel having compassion for those characters, even villains, is important, [and] if I’m not having fun with a character, finding their voice, I’m writing them out of the picture.” During my conversation with James Gunn, we dive deep into all things “The Suicide Squad,” more details on the upcoming Peacemaker series, why Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and his convictions make him so endearing, the meteoric rise of Harley Quinn, and why we all love her, and how working on “The Suicide Squad” ended up being the first time Gunn truly enjoyed the shooting process. "The Suicide Squad" hits theaters and HBO Max this Friday, Aug. 6.

Before even turning thirty, Alicia Vikander had already starred in the sci-fi thriller “Ex Machina,” teamed up with Matt Damon in “Jason Bourne,” was in pre-production as the lead in the reboot of the action franchise “Tomb Raider,” and had won an Academy Award for her performance in “The Danish Girl.”  Whether it be the three projects she has coming out this year, her marriage to fellow actor (and former co-star) Michael Fassbender, or time spent enjoying life’s simple pleasures, Vikander remains one of the busiest and most underrated gems in the industry. Continuing to showcase her range, the actor switches gears for her latest film, “The Green Knight.” Based on the poem and Arthurian legend, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” this medieval fantasy follows Dev Patel as Sir Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, as he goes on an epic quest in pursuit of the Green Knight. The film challenges many themes laced in lore, such as honor, nobility, questions of identity, and worthiness to become a legend. Vikander plays dual roles as Essel and The Lady and is treated to a showstopping monologue that makes for one of the film’s greatest moments. Vikander had long been a fan of the film’s director, David Lowery, and had met him prior to being offered a part. But when she was sent the script, she wasn’t asked by Lowery to read for any specific part. It wasn’t until the end of the casting process that she was asked to play two roles. At that time, he introduced her to the legend of Sir Gawain and the modifications he made to the original material, namely, Vikander’s soliloquy about the color green.  The film not only takes on the challenge of modernizing a 700-plus-year-old poem but manages to capture the essence of a great adventure movie through Lowery’s direction. Vikander views it as a coming-of-age story. While it’s not without its Arthurian hallmarks, there is a meditative and cerebral approach to the philosophy of morality (Lowery regulars are all too familiar) that aids in putting a unique spin on the genre. This question caused Vikander to reflect on her own life and status. One of Vikander’s earlier breakout roles was in Guy Ritchie’s sleek spy flick, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” While packing a star-studded cast, including Henry Cavill and Elizabeth Debicki, and vibrant, kinetic spy action, the film, unfortunately, struggled to find an initial audience tanking its franchise potential. Since then, the film has gained quite a cult following, with fans expressing interest in a sequel. Vikander looks back fondly on making the film and loved how it captured the look and feel of the 60s. While a follow-up remains up in the air, she’s happy that people are finding it and enjoying it, even if it’s years later. During my conversation with Vikander, we also get into the magic of 80s fantasy films and how “The Green Knight” recaptures that magic,  her love of genre, “Ex Machina,” and much more! Don’t miss “The Green Knight” when it hits theaters on July 30.

Before the DM or chatroom, if you wanted to connect with a stranger pseudo-anonymously, you bought a personal ad. This week, Be Reel seeks three films with classified ads as inciting incidents: “Desperately Seeking Susan” (1985), “Single White Female (1992) and the now 20-year-old “Ghost World” (2001). Romance, murder and vicarious living abound, plus the story of Chance and Noah once answering an ad.

On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we talk about the recent news about the big box office drop from "Black Widow" and a theory that perhaps Marvel Studios is its own worst enemy when it comes to the poor box office showing. Is NATO correct in blaming Disney+ Premier Access for taking away from box office earnings? Is COVID the reason that the recent Scarlett Johansson-led superhero film is underperforming? Or maybe Marvel Studios is teaching fans bad lessons thanks to “WandaVision,” “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and “Loki,” leading to a new trend where the event films aren’t all that exciting anymore?

On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, actor Alex Wolff joins us to chat about his roles in “Old” and “Pig” – both movies dropping within a week of one another this summer. During the conversation, we talked about how "Old" director M. Night Shyamalan gets a bad rap for being dark and mysterious, what it's like working with Nicolas Cage for "Pig," and the legacy of "Hereditary."

In the long, storied history of TV hosts, Anthony Bourdain is an iconic figure, as he basically redefined the idea of what a celebrity chef could be and what a travel series should look and sound like. Of course, that all came to a tragic end in 2018, after Bourdain died by suicide. And in this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville talks about the legacy of Anthony Bourdain as we discuss his latest documentary, “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain.”

Though she hasn't been around for 50 years, the filmography of actress Alexandra Daddario is quite extensive. She's done everything from prestige TV ("True Detective") to franchise films ("Percy Jackson") to action blockbusters ("San Andreas") and much more. Her latest project is a new dramedy series for HBO, "The White Lotus." For this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we're joined by Daddario as we talk about her new series.

Netflix's “Gunpowder Milkshake” harkens back to the classic assassin films of yore while also throwing a little Tarantino flavor and color in the mix to create a fun, ultraviolent adventure with a feminist spin. Director Navot Papushado joined The Playlist Podcast for a discussion on the film and his other previous and upcoming projects.

It’s July 2021 and instead of talking about “F9,” “Black Widow,” or any of the summer blockbusters from this year, The Playlist Podcast is going back to the ‘80s to talk about two cult classic summer films, “Escape From New York” and “Big Trouble in Little China.” Why? Because they’re both celebrating big anniversaries. Oh, and because John Carpenter is one of the best filmmakers of all time and Kurt Russell is a national treasure. 

R. L. Stine is back on our screens in top form with Netflix's “Fear Street” trilogy, based on the author’s massive and iconic book series of the same name. The trilogy comes after years of will-they-won’t-they development rumors, the collapse of an original distribution deal with 20th Century Fox, and are respectively set in three distinctive years: 1994, 1978, and 1666. Leigh Janiak is the director and co-writer of all three films and comes to the project with a deep-seated love of, and experience with, horror and a captivating ability to command an audience's attention and investment. Janiak is most well-known for her 2014 directorial feature debut “Honeymoon,” as well as for directing episodes of “Outcast” and MTV’s “Scream” television series. Off of these experiences with dramatic, harder-edged horror stories, Janiak found herself faced with the opportunity to helm “Fear Street,” crafting the loosely bespoke adaptations from the ground up. Set in the town of Shadyside across the three time periods, and told largely from the perspective of teenage lead characters, “Fear Street” shows us the town first as a Gen X utopia in the throes of grunge and neon, then during a "Friday the 13th"-esque summer camp escapade at the end of the 70s, and finally as a colonial village in the time of witch trials and bloodletting. A curse 300 years in the making, Shadeyside continues to fall victim to a history of violent trauma. Having been a fan of the books when she herself was a teen, Janiak looked for the nuances of that period of life in order to create an authentic and relatable experience. The effort to create authenticity extends beyond the characters, however, into every aspect of capturing each movie’s unique time period. “One of the things I thought about a lot was, ‘how do we hit the sweet spot of nostalgia without it becoming parody,’” said Janiak. “We were lucky because the 90s, the 70s, and the 1600s folklore, have clear tropes that can be revisited and used, [but] telling it now in 2021, I could tell a story about characters that didn’t exist in [past] movies because that just wasn’t the lens that was embraced by film of the time.” Another source of Janiak’s inspiration for the trilogy comes from an unexpected source for a horror film: Terrence Malick, and more specifically his 2005 film “The New World.” “[There’s also] ‘The Village,’ ‘The Crucible,’ ‘The VVitch,’” said Janiak, “but I’m a huge Malick fan, I love ‘The New World’ probably more than anyone else. I watch it at least once a year. I feel like it does this amazing thing where you see pre-Colonial America, this beautiful space and organic, alive world, with characters that are living. And then these settlers come and they just destroy it, and it’s so gross. I thought it was this beautiful depiction of how something pure can become rotten.” The first film in the “Fear Street” trilogy, “Fear Street Part One: 1994,” is currently streaming on Netflix. “Part Two: 1978” drops this Friday, July 9th, and “Part Three: 1666” will arrive on the platform one week later on July 16th. Check out our interview with Leigh Janiak below, where the director also discusses crafting the ideal “Fear Street” soundtrack, embracing and acknowledging the diversity of horror audiences, the possibility of letting the “Fear Street” trilogy loose in cinemas to create an epic murder movie marathon and much more. Additional Reporting by Jenny Nulf