TALKING PICTURES is an interview series in which I talk to the people behind some of my favorite movies. From cult movie directors to character actors, from seasoned veterans to brilliant newcomers, from celebrated artists to filmmakers who haven’t received the recognition they deserve – these folks have made some great movies and have lots of fascinating stories to tell.
I’ve written and directed the psychological thriller THE MUSE. My mystery/horror short CINEMA DELL’ OSCURITÀ was nominated for the 13th Street Shocking Short award in 2017. I’m currently working on a documentary on cult filmmaker Howard Ziehm. As a journalist and documentarian, I’ve also interviewed filmmakers such as Mick Garris, Jonathan Mostow, William Lustig, Uwe Boll, John Cox, Ken Wheat, Patrick Vollrath, Alan J. Levi, Sam Pillsbury and many others. If you want to learn more about me and my work, feel free to visit my homepage or my IMDB profile.
COMING SOON: PITCH BLACK interviews with screenwriter Ken Wheat, storyboarder Brian Murray, animatronics supervisor John Cox, and more!
WHERE’S EPISODE #21? Episode #21, a conversation with editing expert Bobbie O’Steen on CHINATOWN and ROSEMARY’S BABY, will be released shortly as part of our CHINATOWN retrospective with Hawk Koch and Allan Warnick (#19 and #20).
Talking Pictures #22: Nicholas Meyer, Writer of THE SEVEN PER-CENT SOLUTION
Today’s guest is the amazing writer and director Nicholas Meyer. While Meyer is probably best known as the writer and director of the beloved sci-fi sequels STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN and STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY and also as the director of the sci-fi adventure TIME AFTER TIME and the devastating nuclear disaster TV movie THE DAY AFTER, our conversation revolves around his Sherlock Holmes stories. In 1974, Meyer published the bestselling novel THE SEVEN PER-CENT SOLUTION, presented as a rediscovered manuscript in which Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective meets Sigmund Freud in Vienna who cures…
Talking Pictures #20: Allan Warnick, Supporting Actor in CHINATOWN
This is the second part of our CHINATOWN series where we discuss the making of Roman Polanski’s 1974 masterpiece, and today’s guest is character actor Allan Warnick. CHINATOWN is Allan’s best-known role, and if you’ve seen the film, you remember Allan from the perfect and very funny scene in the Hall of Records where he plays the stuck-up clerk who tells Jack Nicholson that “This is not a lending library”. Allan worked on several other films during the era, starting with Dennis Hopper’s EASY RIDER follow-up THE LAST MOVIE and then appearing in films like MOTHER, JUGS & SPEED by…
Talking Pictures #19: Hawk Koch, Assistant Director of CHINATOWN
Our third season starts with three interviews where we discuss the making of one of the most revered New Hollywood classics, Roman Polanski’s CHINATOWN, originally released in 1974 and now considered to be one of the best American movies of all time. Today’s episode features my conversation with Hawk Koch, who worked on CHINATOWN as an assistant director and had previously worked with Polanski as a dialogue coach on ROSEMARY’S BABY in 1968. Hawk Koch is the son of Hollywood producer Howard Koch, best known as the producer of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and THE ODD COUPLE. Originally known as Howard…
Talking Pictures #18: John Ottman, Director of URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT
For today’s episode, I had the honor and pleasure of talking to John Ottman, best known as the editor and composer of several X-MEN films – X-MEN 2, DAYS OF FUTURE PAST and APOCALYPSE – and of other Bryan Singer movies like THE USUAL SUSPECTS, VALKYRIE and SUPERMAN RETURNS. In 2019, he won an Academy Award for editing the Queen biopic BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. He’s also scored numerous other well-known films like THE NICE GUYS, HOUSE OF WAX, GOTHIKA, UNKNOWN and NON-STOP. Our conversation, however, revolves around John’s feature film debut as a director: URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT from 2000, the…
Talking Pictures #17: Jamie Blanks, Director of URBAN LEGEND
Today’s guest is Australian horror movie director and genre aficionado Jamie Blanks. Jamie made a name for himself with his 1998 feature film debut URBAN LEGEND, a neo-slasher movie that came out in the wake of Wes Craven’s SCREAM movies and which told the story of a madman whose killings are based on popular urban legends. With a great cast of people like Alicia Witt, Jared Leto, Joshua Jackson, Robert Englund and Brad Dourif and a keen sense of style, the film became a hit which spawned two sequels. Jamie then made another stylish slasher movie, VALENTINE, which took its…
Talking Pictures #16: Jan de Bont, Director of TWISTER
Filmmaker Jan de Bont became famous as one of the most creative and exciting cinematographers of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. He started out in the Netherlands where he worked on Wim Verstappen’s controversial film BLUE MOVIE and quickly became known for his collaborations with director Paul Verhoeven on movies like TURKISH DELIGHT, KEETJE TIPPEL and THE FOURTH MAN. He continued working with Verhoeven in America on FLESH & BLOOD and BASIC INSTINCT and became a sought-after DP for blockbusters like DIE HARD, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, LETHAL WEAPON 3 and FLATLINERS. But Jan de Bont is also a…
Talking Pictures #15: Steve Beck, Director of THIR13TEN GHOSTS and GHOST SHIP
Filmmaker Steve Beck created two notable horror movies in the early 2000’s: THIRTEEN GHOSTS, which came out in 2001, and GHOST SHIP, which followed in 2002 – both of them produced by Robert Zemeckis, Joel Silver and Gilbert Adler for their company Dark Castle Entertainment. THIRTEEN GHOSTS was a remake of William Castle’s B-movie classic by the same name from 1960, whereas GHOST SHIP was an original story. Both movies are effective ghost stories starring several recognizable actors like F. Murray Abraham, Gabriel Byrne, Tony Shalhoub, Matthew Lillard, and even a young Emily Browning. The real star of both films,…
Talking Pictures #14: Bert I. Gordon, Director of THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN
Our latest episode features a very special interview with a legendary filmmaker who put his own unique stamp on horror movies. His initials are B.I.G., and size is also one of the major themes of his movies which featured giant lizards, giant grasshoppers, giant cats, giant spiders, giant rats, giant ducks and yes, even giant teenagers. I’ve had the pleasure of talking to Mr. Bert I. Gordon, who, starting in the Fifties, created many beloved B movies like THE CYCLOPS, THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, BEGINNING OF THE END, EARTH VS. THE SPIDER, ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE, VILLAGE OF THE…
Talking Pictures #13: Zak Penn, Screenwriter of READY PLAYER ONE
Today’s guest is Zak Penn, best known as a screenwriter on several big-budget superhero movies like X-MEN 2, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, THE INCREDIBLE HULK and THE AVENGERS. Zak also wrote the 1993 comedy LAST ACTION HERO starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he directed a wonderful mockumentary called INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS, in which he, together with German director Werner Herzog, ventures out to find the Loch Ness monster. My conversation with Zak focuses on his work on Steven Spielberg’s 2018 sci-fi movie READY PLAYER ONE, which Zak adapted from Ernest Cline’s novel by the same name. The story is set…
Talking Pictures #12: Jeremy Pikser, Co-Writer of BULWORTH
Today’s guest is screenwriter Jeremy Pikser, best known as the co-writer of Warren Beatty’s political satire BULWORTH for which they got both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe nomination. In BULWORTH, a senator decides to end his life and spend his last few days telling the truth wherever he goes during his re-election campaign – which, naturally, completely disrupts the world of politics. Jeremy talks about the genesis of the movie, which came out in 1998, during Bill Clinton’s 2nd term, about the difficult writing process with Warren Beatty, about truth in politics, about the often-discussed ending of the…