The Projection Booth Podcast

Based on the scandalous memoir by Christina Crawford, Frank Perry's Mommie Dearest (1981) gave the world a powerhouse performance by Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford.On this episode of The Projection Booth, Joshual Grannell and Terry Frost join Mike to discuss the movie and its reception. Guests this episode include actress Rutanya Alda who gives a behind-the-scenes account of the shooting of the film and Justin Bozung who is currently writing a book about director Frank Perry.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a special episode of The Projection Booth, Mike talks to author Marco Siedlmann about his upcoming book, Stories from the Trenches: The Official Sam Firstenberg Book as well as the subject of the book himself, Sam Firstenberg, the director of films such as American Ninja, American Samurai, Cyborg Cop, and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Larry Revene's Wanda Whips Wall Street (1981), Veronica Hart stars as Wanda Brandt, a serious business woman who plies her feminine wiles while taking over Tyler Industries, despite investigators Lou Perrini (Jamie Gillis) and Ed Drummond (Ron Jeremy) being hot on her trail...Professor Kevin Heffernan and Heather Drain join Mike in discussing the film as well as it's 1984 re-cut version, Stocks and Blondes.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been over a year since we've pulled back the curtain and done an "Ego Fest." Rather than discussing a specific film, this episode is all about The Projection Booth itself. It's the real dirt, off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush.Heather Drain joins Mike to answer listener questions, thank Patreon Donors, go off-topic, and kvetch.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike talks with actress Tami Stronach from her early days and starring as The Childlike Empress in The Neverending Story (1984) to her dance and theater career as the co-founder of The Paper Canoe Company.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

eXistenZ, the 1999 film from writer/director David Cronenberg stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as Allegra Geller, a game designer who has been marked for death by a faction known as the “Realists”. After an assassination attempt she escapes with her ineffectual bodyguard, a PR nerd named Ted Pikull played by Jude Law. The pair eventually test out Allegra’s new game, eXistenZ, in order to make sure her biomass game pod is still functional. From there the film traverses many layers of game play, making viewers question what’s real and what’s part of play.Dustin & Jessica Kramer of the Popcorn Poops podcast join Mike to discuss existentialism, Freud, Philip K. Dick, The Matrix, and more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike speaks with actor Faran Tahir about his early days and more recent roles in Iron Man, Star Trek, Escape Plan, Once Upon a Time, and more.Follow Faran Tahir on Twitter at https://twitter.com/farantahir123Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Bird and Maitland McDonagh join Mike to discuss the 1948 film from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, The Red Shoes. The film centers on the tumultuous world of dance, namely ballet. We follow Julian Craster (Marius Goring) and Vicky Page (Moira Shearer) through triumphs and misfortunes.A favorite of Martin Scorsese, the film is a triumph of melodrama and includes several breathtaking dance sequences, most notably an adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's The Red Shoes.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Set during World War One, Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion (1937) stars Jean Gabin as Lt. Marechal, an airman who, along with Captain Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay), are shot down by Captain Rauffenstein, who’s played by Erich von Stroheim. The two Frenchmen then spend most of the rest of the film in POW camps, primarily Hallbach and Wintersborn where they meet an array of fellow prisoners.Tom Jennings and Ken Stanley join Mike to discuss this seminal humanist film.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, we're talking about John Carpenter's They Live (1988) wherein a man with no name -- or a name that means nothing -- Nada ("Rowdy" Roddy Piper) comes to Los Angeles looking for work only to find a vast conspiracy instead.We talk to the author of the They Live Cultography, D. Harlan Wilson, as well as producer Sandy King, and actors Peter Jason and Keith David.F! This Movie's Patrick Bromley and Talk Without Rhythm's El Goro join Mike to discuss this politically-charged film as well as Pizzagate, Wrestlemania, Shepard Fairey's use of wrestling, skateboarding, and politics via the "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" phenomenon, and morning in America.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special episode, Mike talks with Nancy Andrews the director of The Strange Eyes of Dr. Myes (2015), a short film cum feature cum web series.Watch the series at thestrangeeyesofdrmyes.com.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Based on Barbara Gowdy's short story We So Seldom Look on Love, Lynne Stopkewich's Kissed (1996) is an unusual love story wherein Sandra Larson (Molly Parker) has an attraction to death while Matt (Peter Outerbridge) is attracted to Sandra.Axel Kohagen and Rob St. Mary join Mike to discuss necrophilia, zombies, and more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike talked with writer/producer/director/actress Miranda Bailey about some of her past and future projects including Swiss Army Man, Super, Don't Thing Twice, Diary of a Teenage Girl, and The Pathological Optimist. Find out more about Ms. Bailey at http://www.coldironpictures.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We wrap up '80s month with a housecall from Doctor Detroit (1983), the story of mild-mannered professor, Clifford Skridlow (Dan Aykroyd) and how he transforms into super-pimp Doctor Detroit.Based on the short story "Detroit Abe" by Bruce Jay Friedman, Mike talks to screenwriters Robert Boris and Carl Gottlieb along with director Michael Pressman. This episode also includes the third and final part of the interview with actress Glenne Headly.Aaron Peterson and Heather Drain join Mike to discuss this unusual comedy.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike talks with Steve Byrne of the Detroit Free Press about the 2017 Freep Film Festival, the documentary-focused fest that runs from March 30-April 2, 2017.In the spotlight are films such as 12th & Clairmount, The 24 Hour War, Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future, The Force, Making Waves: Battle for the Great Lakes, Tickling Giants and On the Sly: The Search for the Family Stone.Mike is scheduled to moderate the post-screening Q&A with director Michael Rubenstone at the Cinema Detroit screening 5:30 PM on Saturday April 1.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Martin Brest's Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Eddie Murphy stars as Detroit police officer Axel Foley. He pursues the killers of his childhood friend to Beverly Hills where the local constabulary find his methods questionable.We talk to screenwriter Daniel Petrie Jr, actors John Ashton, Ronny Cox, and Steven Berkoff along with composer Harold Faltermeyer. As an added bonus, we talk to the original writer of Beverly Hills Cop III, Steven E. de Sousa.Mike's joined by Chris Cummins and Elric Kane to discuss the Beverly Hills Cop series as well as the Sylvester Stallone offshoot, Cobra.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you ready for some Totally Awesome Video Games?!?We head to the arcade this week to discuss Greydon Clark's teen comedy Joysticks (1983) wherein the local gaming establishment is threatened by Mr. Rutter (Joe Don Baker). The film includes an incredible cast, featuring Jon Gries as King Vidiot.Heather Drain and Chris Cummins join Mike to discuss their favorite games, arcades, and making their money the hard way... one quarter at a time.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Susan Seidelman's Making Mr. Right (1987), Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson) is an ad executive whose new client, ChemTec, needs a major PR campaign in order to make the Ulysses robot (John Malkovich) palatable to the American public.Laurie Frank and Floyd Byars penned this sci-fi romantic comedy.The episode features the second of the three-part interview with actress Glenne Headly. Hear the first part on the Dick Tracy episode.Beth Accomando and Miguel Rodridguez join Mike to discuss this delightfully quirky film.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I kinda wanted it to be Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Rambo" - Director Gil BettmanAn outstanding example of '80s Action Cinema, Never Too Young to Die (1986) stars John Stamos as Lance Stargrove, the "son of Bond", who teams up with Peter Kwong and Vanity to take down the evil intersex rock-n-roll cult leader Velvet Von Ragnar Gene Simmons.The brainchild of Steven Paul (Baby Geniuses, Slapstick of Another Kind, The Double 0 Kid), the film is getting a Blu-Ray release in April, 2017.Josh Stewart and Heather Drain join Mike to discuss this outrageous film.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Weir's The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) stars Terry Camilleri as Arthur Waldo, a meek man whose brother dies in a car accident outside of Paris, Australia -- a town whose economy relies on scavenging on the wrecks they create.Also released (in a truncated form) as The Cars That Eat People, the film is the first feature from Peter Weir and was produced by Jim and Hal McElroy.Ben Buckingham and Kevin Heffernan join Mike to discuss the film, Mad Max 2, and more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices