The Projection Booth Podcast

We’re kicking of Czechtember 2024 with a classic of the Czech New Wave, Jan Nemec’s Diamonds of the Night. Released in 1964, the film was a groundbreaking piece of cinema.  Based on Arnost Lustig’s semi-autobiographical novel Darkness Casts No Shadow, the film is about the escape of two boys from a train carrying them to a death camp.  Heather Drain and Rob St. Mary join Mike to discuss this harrowing film. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Mike spoke with director Quinn Armstrong about his latest work: a trilogy of films that act as a triptych with Dead Teenagers, Wolves Against the World, and The Exorcism of St. Patrick. All three films will be available to stream by September 10, 2024.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

On this special episode, Mike speaks with Vera Drew the director, star, and co-writer of the origin story of Vera Drew AKA Joker the Harlequin.Find out more at https://www.thepeoplesjoker.com/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

We conclude Art House August with a look at Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows. Ostensibly a film about the French Resistance in World War II, the film stars Lino Ventura as Phillipe Gerbier, one of four main Resistance fighters we meet as we travel through the underworld, striking out at the German occupiers and those loyal to the Vichy government.Andrew Leavold and Samm Dieghan join Mike for an insightful conversation while special guest Ginette Vincendeau discusses Melville's career at the time and the reaction to the film.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

On this special episode, Mike spoke with actors (and musicians) Ryan Donowho and Rab Raco about their 2024 film Art of a Hit. Directed by Gaelan Connell and co-written with Charlie Saxton, the film is a horror film about a band making their new album in a spooky French castle.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

We continue Art House August with a look at Mike Leigh’s Naked (1993).  The film features amateur philosopher and full-time gadfly Johnny, played brilliantly by David Thewlis.  We follow Johnny as he flees to London from Manchester after raping a woman and stealing a car.  We also follow Jeremy (Greg Crutwell), an unrepentant bastard and interesting counterpoint to Johnny.Elinor Lewy (Somebody's Watching podcast) and Nick Kujawa join Mike to discuss the film and Johnny's "dark night of the soul".Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

We continue Art House August with a look at Christopher Petit’s Radio On. Released in 1979, the film is a road movie about a London man investigating the death of his brother in Bristol. A deliberately paced black and white film, it became famous for the use of modern music on its soundtrack. Ben Slater and Mark Begley join Mike to discuss this unusual film.  Writer/director Chris Petit talks about how the film came together.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

In this special episode of The Projection Booth, co-hosts Chris Stachiw of The Kulturecast and Father Malone of Midnight Viewing join forces to dissect Alien: Romulus 2024, the latest installment in the iconic Alien franchise. Directed by visionary talent Fede Alvarez, this film attempts to return to the franchise’s horror roots while pandering to fans.Our hosts delve into the Alien: Isolation inspiration, the ghoulish visual effects, and the story of Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her robot pal Andy (David Jonsson) who live in a mining colony before they escape with three dead meat friends to derelict space station Romulus-Remus where hundreds of face-huggers are kept in cold storage. The film eventually introduces a very familiar(ish) face and some Prometheus/Alien: Covenant gets introduced thanks to producer Ridley Scott.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

We're celebrating our 700th episode of The Projection Booth with what may be the first time we've discussed a movie for a third time as we continue to document the troubled history of the 1980 film Caligula.We first spoke about the film almost 10 years ago where we were joined by Maitland McDonagh to discuss the movie while Ranjit Sandhu gave us the sordid history behind the production and talked about his book 200 Degrees of Failure and filmmaker Alexander Tuschinski discussed the career of Tinto Brass and the original intentions Brass had for the finished film.We came back together in 2018 to discuss the re-discovery of the original footage of Caligula and the plans Penthouse and Alexander had to restore the film to Tinto Brass’s original vision.Now Rob and Mike are joined by Heather Drain to talk about the version of Caligula that played at Cannes in 2023. Once referred to as Caligula MMXX, it’s now called Caligula: The Ultimate Cut and it was produced by a person named Thomas Negovan.We’ll be discussing t

As part of our Fantasia 2024 coverage, Mike spoke to writer/director Jeffrey St. Jules about his new film, Silent Planet. The film stars Briana Middleton and Elias Koteas in a story of two convicts imprisoned on a distant planet.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Mike spoke with director David Schurmann and actor Jean Reno about their new film, My Penguin Friend, a heart-warming story of an injured penguin that returns from the sea to find his rescuer and his family. The film opens in the US on August 16, 2024.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

We’re kicking off an August of Art Films with a look at Victor Erice’s 1973 film, The Spirit of the Beehive. The film stars Ana Torrent as Ana, a five year old girl who lives with her older sister, Isabel, her mother, and her distant father in a palatial estate. When the film Frankenstein comes to their little Castilian town, Ana becomes fascinated by the creature killing little Maria.  This comes at a time when she begins to understand death in the harrowing world around her.Heather Drain and Robert Bellissimo join Mike to discuss this thought-provoking film.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

As part of our coverage of Fantasia 2024, Mike spoke with director Kourtney Roy and actor Jason Deline about their new film, Kryptic (2024), a horror/drama about a woman searching for a lost monster-hunter. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

As part of our coverage of Fantasia 2024, director Miguel Llansó (Crumbs, Jesus Shows You The Way to the Highway) returns to the Projection Booth to discuss his latest film, Infinite Summer (2024), in which a girls weekend becomes a transhumanist romp.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

On this special bonus episode of The Kolchak Tapes, Mike talked with Paul Terry, author of the new Kolchak short story collection "Kolchak - The Night Stalker: Haunted & Hunted." It's includes five riveting stories that expound on the career of intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak and his quest for journalistic truth in a world where things go bump in the night.Find out more at https://www.paulterryprojects.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Mike Faloon and Lexy Van Dyke join Mike to wrap up Sci-Fi July with one of the classics of the genre, Forbidden Planet (1956). A loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the film stars Leslie Nielsen as Commander J.J. Adams.  He and his crew land upon a planet in the Altair system where they look for survivors from the spaceship Bellerophon.  There they discover just Professor Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter Altaria (Anne Francis), and their robot servant (Robby).   There’s a mystery afoot and it’s up to Commander Adams and his gang of goofy astronauts to solve it. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Axel Kohagen joined Mike to discuss his annual horror movie marathon for charity.The event takes place September 22-24, 2024.Follow Axel on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/axelscares for live updates and prizes.Donate to the cause at: https://give.thetrevorproject.org/fundraiser/5625245Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Mike spoke with both director Marcus Dunstan and actress Jade Pettyjohn about the new horror/comedy slasher film #AMFAD.The film is scheduled to be released in select theaters and video on demand on August 2, 2024.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Sci-Fi July continues with a look at Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element.  Written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, the film stars Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas, a cab driver who becomes embroiled in a crisis that threatens to destroy the Earth (if not love itself).Actor Galen Howard and writer Paul Zimmerman join Mike to discuss this beloved cult classic. Interviews include screenwriter Kamen, Sound Supervisor Mark A. Mangini, and Production Manager John A. Amicarella,Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Sci-Fi July continues with Ishiro Honda’s Latitude Zero.  Written by Ted Sherdeman and based on his and his wife Anne’s NBC radio serial of the same name, the film stars Joseph Cotten as a Captain Nemo-like commander of a submarine on it's way to... Latitude Zero, an underwater Utopia populated by scientists from the world over.  Their enemy, Malic (Cesar Romero), will stop at nothing to destroy them, even if it means making a manticore with pieces of his crew.Walter Chaw and Carol Borden join Mike to discuss this under-seen kaiju classic and its fascinating origin. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.