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We’re back with an episode we are beyond excited to share with you. Today we’re joined by legendary storyboard artist and key Coens collaborator J. Todd Anderson. Anderson has drawn storyboards for every Coen brothers film since Raising Arizona, as well as The Tragedy of Macbeth and the upcoming Drive-Away Dolls. He also directed The Naked Man which he co-wrote with Ethan Coen. We get into a wide-ranging conversation about telling stories visually, as well as J. Todd’s philosophy on what makes a film or artwork “simple yet elegant”. There’s so much here, you’re going to want to listen and relisten to this one–we for sure will be!
Thanks so much to J. Todd for sharing his time and knowledge with us. If you want to see his work in amazing detail and learn more about the art of storyboarding check out Big Lebowski: The Official Storyboards.
Films covered: Raising Arizona, The Man Who Wasn’t There, The Naked Man, No Country for Old Men, Inside Llewyn Davis
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For MERCH and all else TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me -
Today we read pages 27-28 and refract the screenplay's beams through a prism called Guiding Lights. Coens characters who are struggling to find their bearings look to maps, mathematics, icons, and guidebooks. Do they get the guidance they seek or are they led down a primrose path?
Coens Covered: Barton Fink, Tuileries (short), World Cinema (short), A Serious Man
Plus: Climates, Crumb, Dick Tracy TV Specials
If you're enjoying To the White Sea please follow us on social media, post about it and tell your friends, and rate/review us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
You can also support the show directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea
For merch and all else TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me -
Our McTiernan series concludes with 2003’s BASIC - a film that Griffin thinks should instead be titled “COMPLICATED” - get it? Because there are so many plot twists?? The great BenDavid Grabinski joins us to chat about John Travolta’s run of big, skeezy characters post-FACE/OFF, McTiernan’s ultimate Achilles heel (getting too confident in his ability to fix impossible movies), the screenwriting career of studio wunderkind James Vanderbilt, and the truly terrible acting of Giovanni Ribisi. Plus, the return of Journalist Eddie Brock, our pitches for different versions of CHANGING LANES (which they should remake every five years), and our final McT filmography rankings.
This episode is sponsored by:
AuraFrames.com (CODE: CHECK)
Burrow (Burrow.com/check)
Join our Patreon at patreon.com/blankcheck Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter and Instagram! -
In today's episode we read pages 25-26 before beaming through the prism with a new and exciting catchphrase. It's all about sneaky, sneaky sneaks. Sneaking around. Sneaking here and sneaking there. Sneaking everywhere.
Coens covered: Burn After Reading; Raising Arizona; Hail, Caesar!; Bridge of Spies
Plus (of course): SNEAKERS (1992)
If you're enjoying To the White Sea please follow us on social media, tell your friends about the show, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea
For merch and all else TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me -
Today we’re back in the studio with a classic Ray and Jordan episode. We read pages 21-22 and discuss unforgivable protagonists, lead characters who defy traditional story conventions, as well as the laws of man and the almighty. They function as a sort of off-ramp for audiences, which isn’t often what you want from a main character. What makes them so unforgivable and why can’t they just save the cat? The answers may surprise you!
Coens covered: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs/Near Algodones (shorts), The Ladykillers, Intolerable Cruelty, Inside Llewyn Davis
Plus: Matewan
If you're enjoying the show please follow us on social media, tell your friends about the show, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea
For merch and all else TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me -
Happy Halloween! This time, we're joined by Tom and Trev to talk about the Canadian sci-fi/horror/comedy Psycho Goreman! Directed by Steven Kostanski (of the cult film collective Astron-6), and inspired by 80s fantasy, Japanese superhero shows and 90s family films, it tells the story of Psycho Goreman (aka PG), an alien warlord who falls to Earth and becomes controlled by a sociopathic little girl. While PG is playing dodgeball and turning kids into tentacled brain creatures, he has to fend off a rogues gallery of tokusatsu inspired monsters and learn the power of love along the way. We'll also talk about the history of Canadian filmmaking collective Astron 6. How does this gore soaked genre mashup fare? Listen and find out!
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Today we read pages 23-24 and discuss father figures in the films of the brothers Coen. The conversation is oceanic and infused with psychodrama, so we hope you enjoy it :)
Coens covered: Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Big Lebowski
If you're enjoying the show please follow us on social media, tell your friends about the show, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. For real, tell two people about the show right now!
You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea
For merch and all else TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me -
On this episode, Byrd and Matt look at the Showa Godzilla series from Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster all the way through the conclusion with Terror of MechaGodzilla. But first, the two discuss Gareth Edwards' exit from Godzilla 2, which transforms into a tangent where Byrd goes on a fiery rant about the problems with fandom and entitlement in the internet age.
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In today’s episode, recorded live at Dunkunsthalle in a roundtable study group format, we discuss teamwork in the Coens’ films. Sequences where three or more characters form a coalition and try to accomplish something together.
Coens covered: Hail, Caesar!; O Brother Where Art Thou; Inside Llewyn Davis; True Grit; The Big Lebowski
Thank you to Austin Purnell for co-hosting, JT Anderson for photography, and all of our guests for their participation and insights: Eva, Jon, Briana, Cole, David, Eric, Moses, JT, Anonymous
Special Thanks: Rachel Rossin, Briana Griffin, Sam Geller, Jeff Delauter, Ben Hosley -
Today’s episode is mega! We’re joined by amazing filmmaker and VFX artist Ben Brewer. We read pages 17-18 and break down sequences in the Coens’ films that feature eye-popping—and potentially budget-breaking—special effects. We analyze what makes an effects shot “work”, and the crucial story context that that entails. We also dive into Ben’s mind-blowing short film A FOLDED OCEAN and hear about his work on The Daniels’ chart-topping and Oscar-winning EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE which took the world by storm in 2022.
Coens covered: The Hudsucker Proxy, O Brother Where Art Thou, A Serious Man, Hail Caesar
LIVE EVENT THIS THURSDAY!!! If you want to see A FOLDED OCEAN for yourself, please join us at Dunkunsthalle on Thursday May 4th at 730pm. Discussion and Q+A with Ben to follow. You don’t wanna miss this.
Dunkunsthalle
64 Fulton St
New York, NY
10038
If you're enjoying the show please follow us on social media, tell people about the show, and rate and review us on iTunes. Go for it!
You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea
For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me -
Today we're so excited to be joined by our dear friend, composer and musician, Dan Romer. We read pages 15-16 and discuss Dan's unique, POV-driven approach to composing scores for films and TV shows. Then we freefall through this week's prism: it's all about moments in Coens films when the tone shifts radically. Along the way we read from Carter Burwell's notes on how the films and their scores came together.
Coens covered: Fargo, The Man Who Wasn't There, Intolerable Cruelty, The Big Lebowski
If you're enjoying the show please follow us on social media, tell people about the show, and rate and review us on iTunes. Go crazy.You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea.
For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me -
Growing up in Staten Island, Colin Jost hung around many of his mother’s colleagues at the New York City Fire Department. He quickly gained an appreciation for the power of laughter, even in grave circumstances. By middle school, Jost was doing David Letterman impressions for classmates, and less than a decade later, while enrolled at Harvard, he rose to the top of the masthead of the school's humor magazine, the Lampoon. Suffice it to say, Jost’s talents as a writer and performer were clear to all, and he routinely demonstrates this aptitude on S.N.L.’s Weekend Update, which he has co-hosted with Michael Che since 2014. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Jost joins host and AIR MAIL contributor Bruce Bozzi to reflect on his early days as a comedy writer, the comedians and actors who influenced him, and the joys of raising his son, Cosmo, alongside his wife, Scarlett Johansson.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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“Get to the chopper!”
Yes, we’re talking about the Arnold Schwarzenegger action classic Predator (1987).
On this show, Exploding Helicopter head honcho Will is joined by long-time contributor Dara. They discuss the quality of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “eye acting”, the mental health needs of US Special Forces, and whether it would be possible to set up a Predator tourist business.
So, smear yourself in mud, build a complicated series of traps out of the natural environment, and listen to the show.
Warning this episode contains multiple impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, and Jesse Ventura.
Don’t forget to check out the Exploding Helicopter website or follow us on Twitter.
Thanks to Bantz Cochrane for the music. -
On this episode we’re joined by one of our favorite filmmakers, Emily Kai Bock. We read pages 13-14 and analyze five action sequences that careen between do-or-die realism and out-and-out phantasmagoria.
Coens covered: No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Raising Arizona, The Ladykillers, A Serious Man
For more of Emily’s work visit emilykaibock.com.
Afterlife music video.
A Funeral for Lightning short film.
Enjoying the show? Please consider supporting us on Ko-fi :)
All things TTWS at tothewhitesea.me -
Today we welcome our first ever guest to the TTWS study group, artist and filmmaker Z Behl. We read pages 9-10, and then take a deep dive into this week’s theme—Help Me—scenes where Coens characters ask for help. Do they get it? You’ll have to listen and find out.
We have another live event coming up we’re super excited about. Next week filmmaker Xander Robin will be our guest on the show, and on Thursday April 13 at 730pm he'll be screening some never-before-seen short films at Dunkunsthalle at 64 Fulton St. in Manhattan. Come through, see the films, and join the Q+A :) -
Exploding Helicopter is dedicated to celebrating the art of exploding helicopters in films.
So, for our first ever show we take a look at the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) which includes two helicopter explosions, including a classic of the genre.
Exploding Helicopter supremo Will is joined by long-time contributor Joe. Before getting down to analysing the quality of the chopper fireballs, Will and Joe discuss whether a Bond film should ever include disco music, the practicalities of living underwater, and if Moonraker is actually a remake of The Spy Who Loved Me.
If you like the show then check out the Exploding Helicopter website or follow us on Twitter.
Thanks to Tim for the Exploding Helicopter music. -
On this episode, Chris and Arian are joined by artist Hiroshi Kanatani. We're jumping back into he works of director Lam Ngai Kai (The Seventh Curse) as he tackles the manga: Peacock King, for it's forray into the live action world. This film is one part Wuxia epic, one part Ghostbusters, toss in a young Gordon Liu and a whole lot of fun. Monks, Demons, and rubber dinosaurs. The kind of madness that only the 80's could conjure!
Follow Hiroshi on:
Instagram @hiroshikanatani
Youtube:
Twitter @TheKaijuKingdom
Instagram.com/TheKaijuKingdom
Facebook.com/TheKaijukingdomPodcast
The show's theme is provided by "Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio -
We’re thrilled to bring you today’s episode and today’s guest, filmmaker Xander Robin. We read pages 11-12 and stare into the unknown through a fractured prism of glints, glimpses and glimmers.
Please join us at Dunkunsthalle for Xander Robin - Mutations in Nature: Hidden Florida Movies. It’s going to be amazing; don’t miss it!
Thursday, April 13. 730pm. 64 Fulton St. Manhattan.
Coens covered: Lebowski, No Country, A Serious Man, Llewyn Davis
Plus: Are We Not Cats, Deliverance, Chillin' Island, Rear Window, The Vanishing, Memoria
Like the show? Buy some merch! tothewhitesea.me -
On the first episode of Table for Two, host Bruce Bozzi sits down for lunch with Scarlett Johansson at Via Carota, in New York’s West Village. Hollywood’s highest paid actress has to fight through a film set to get inside the restaurant, but manages to go blissfully undetected by crew and bystanders alike. Once safely installed, she gives Bruce the inside story on everything from Woody Allen’s unconventional directorial style—the filmmaker often shoots with his eyes closed—and working with Bill Murray at the young age of 17 to marrying Staten Island native Colin Jost, which was almost unthinkable at first for a Manhattanite like Scarlett. Hear about all of this and more on Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi presented by iHeartMedia and Air Mail. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Finally, we arrive at the film that helped put John McTiernan in both “director jail” and “jail jail” - the incoherent nu-metal fart that is 2002’s ROLLERBALL. Zach Cherry continues his trend of appearing on episodes covering movies that led to actual court cases, and we do our best to try to explain what happened (both on-screen and off). Why is this film set in Borat’s Kazakhstan? What was up with the extended nightvision scene? Is Griffin insane for being a Chris Kline apologist? Plus - Ben learns about the World Nomad Games of Central Asia!
This episode is sponsored by:
Zocdoc (zocdoc.com/check)
FieldOfGreens.com (CODE: CHECK)
MUBI (mubi.com/blankcheck)
Join our Patreon at patreon.com/blankcheck Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter and Instagram! - Show more