Episodes
-
Young Frankenstein brought together so many talented actors and comedians, to create a memorable and re-watchable Gothic horror comedy. Artist and designer Mike Wirth explains how Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein and its various adaptations and tributes and parodies connect to and relate to the Jewish golem story. We also touch on not only the classic movies of Mel Brooks, but also Sam Raimi, Airplane 2, and What's Up, Doc? as well as movies becoming musical theater. Plus, some vaudeville history, and Hitchcock, with Dr. San Guinary's Creature Feature thrown in for good measure. Listen closely and you'll hear Mike's cat, our special guest. This episode is dedicated to Teri Garr.
-
Jen Hood, Co-Founder and Design Lead at Hoodzpah http://hoodzpahdesign.com/, provides plenty of reasons to watch and re-watch Edgar Wright's 2004 horror/comedy classic Shaun of the Dead. Not only is Simon Pegg cute, but he and Nick Frost are also such a dynamic duo that you might find yourself drawing comparisons to Abbott and Costello, or Laurel and Hardy. Appropriate since, like those comedy legends, Pegg and Frost had their own streak with Shaun of the Dead, plus Hot Fuzz and The World's End. We also get into Wright's Baby Driver versus Gosling's Drive, with some talk about hair and highlights, and the problem with two similar movies debuting around the same time, A Bug's Life and Antz, we're looking at you too. In addition to this episode, and Hoodzpah, where else can you find Jen Hood? Some snazzy fonts https://hoodzpahdesign.com/product-category/fonts/ plus freelance and business courses https://courses.hoodzpahdesign.com/courses/freelance-and-business-and-stuff too. Oh, and you may find her on one of those Viking Cruises too, sooner or later, touring one of Wright's movie locations. Would it be Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz or The World's End? Listen in to find out.
-
Episodes manquant?
-
Chelsea Poppens, Chief Operating Officer at DayCloud Studios, joins the show to talk about the fun, family-friendly Halloween classic, Disney's Hocus Pocus. We root for sister and brother Dani and Max, with Allison, who battle the Sandersons! But don't take the movie too seriously, enjoy it for what it is, appreciate the nostalgia, and take in all the nifty practical effects from the glory days before computers became the norm for post-production. In addition to Hocus Pocus, we touch on Hocus Pocus 2, and Chelsea shares stories from not only the design-side of her daily routines, but also talks about how she makes time for herself. As a former WNBA/Pro/ISU athlete, she opens up about being a fish out of water, traveling for games. What's the best way to travel? By plane, train, automobile, broom, vacuum cleaner, or Swiffer? Choosing might be easier than you think. Also! Be sure to follow Chelsea at the podcasts Champion This and Agency Rocket Show.
-
Artist, illustrator, and designer Diane Faye Zerr returns to the show to talk about Prey. Admittedly, she's never been a Predator fan but when she found out about Prey's premise, she jumped right in. Yes, this is a "Predator Movie" but Prey is all about Naru, a strong woman fighting multiple battles, dealing with wild animals, and on top of it all, Naru takes down an alien. "She doesn't have assault rifles, she doesn't have grenades," says Diane, moreover, Naru doesn't have roid-built muscles either. "You don't want to tailor to just guys bringing their girlfriends along to movies," says Diane, "you want to bring girls into things too." Diane also talks about the forthcoming Predator movie starring Elle Fanning, plus, we touch on rights of passage for heroes, sequels as pure money makers, 1979's Alien, the erstwhile smoking sections in theaters, and the forthcoming Alien TV series. Learn more about Diane's work at https://fayeandco.etsy.com and https://www.instagram.com/fayeandco.
-
Digital and graphic designer Catalina Olvera has not only seen Saw once, but she's also gone back to it time and time again, having been fascinated with it since age 8. A big fan of true crime stories, she explains why the first Saw holds up. Sure, designers will appreciate Jigsaw's crafty "measure twice and cut once" methodology, but it's the story and set pieces that leave an impression. In addition to Saw, we also discuss Saw X and Shawnee Smith who portrays Amanda, aka Mandy, plus we get into 2024's Longlegs and 2022's Smile, as well as Guillermo del Toro. We conclude with a discussion about the movie-watching experience, theaters or streaming and the right time for each, and why trailers should be avoided due to their very spoilery content.
-
Giovanna Chung of Kindred Spirits Design Co. isn't necessarily a horror fan, but Get Out struck such a chord that she finds herself thinking about it time and time again, and not just because of Jordan Peele's considered use of type, color, and graphics. The movie delivers a horrifying and memorable story with seemingly authentic human interactions used for something else, something evil and horrifying. Not only does Giovanna bring a designer's perspective to her analysis of Get Out, but with a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Neuroscience, Minor in Sociology, she's also able to go beneath the surface. "It's a really good movie for people who like to study people," she says. In addition to Get Out and its alternate ending, we discuss Peele's Us and Nope, the Key & Peele cat comedy Keanu, and improv, Ari Aster, and being a "theater kid." Learn more about Giovanna at https://kindredspiritsdesign.co/ and in AIGA Houston's Hispanic Heritage Month feature.
-
Motion designer Steven Tapia shares his fondness for The Matrix, from the fantastic story to the cliffhangers and fight scenes, up to and including its commentary on identity, technology, and humanity. A successful designer who's worked with clients like James "Latin" Clark on Tony Yayo's Pass the Patron video featuring 50 Cent, Tapia is also an accomplished teacher with After Effects & Visual Effects Tutorials on YouTube. In addition to The Matrix, we touch on The Acolyte (2024), Bound (1996), the freedoms that come with freelancing, AI and generative art tools like Midjourney, going hard at that thing that you love, and a little bit of Max Headroom.
-
Is Joe Dirt the best movie to watch while you crush Mountain Dew and hang out with your pals in a garage? There's only one answer to that question, according to James Edmondson, who studied at TypeMedia in The Hague, Netherlands. In 2015 he launched his type company Ohno whose specimens do include Joe Dirt references, or crumbs if you will. Edmondson has grown Ohno into an awesome company and brought in more people who care as much about type as he does. "Taking something silly very seriously," matters to James and as Ohno's Instagram suggests, "Graphic Design should be fun." Yes, Joe Dirt has plenty of problems, but looking broadly at its humor, music, and story, would this sprawling romp make a fun Broadway Musical? Listen in to discover why, or why not.
-
Educator, writer, historian and archivist, and collector of all things cool Briar Levit (who is a filmmaker too!!) talks about why Raising Arizona is an all-time favorite. Not only is this rompy Coen Brothers movie full of humor, poetic speech, non-sequiturs, fun music, and Looney Tunes cartoon-style mayhem, but it also has a great cast and memorable dialogue. Also hear about Fargo the movie and series, old-timey words, horrifying films penned by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men and The Counselor), heads in boxes, big type for titles, and shopping for movies at Goodwill. Finally, learn about Briar's love of Boardwalk Empire, Blazing Saddles, and Monty Python, among others. Plus? Something for our research-driven listeners. What's the connection between Raising Arizona and a Serbian biology textbook? Listen and learn!
-
You want more? YOU GOT IT! Plenty of tangents, arts and crafts, and more swear words than usual make this bonus episode go to eleven (apologies to Nigel Tufnel). Further One Crazy Summer discussion, plus we talk about synthesizers, MIDI, PageMaker, organizing your movies nicely on shelves, George Clooney's Up in the Air, packing and moving, murals, paint and emotion, beer can designs, sketchbooks versus laptops, NYC's Strand Book Store, Bill Murray's brother Joel, and if you listen closely you'll hear Jason's pugs barking in the background every so often.
-
Savage Steve Holland's One Crazy Summer has mostly been overlooked, or forgotten, a shame since it blends genres and media into a big sweet, salty, and sometimes spicy milkshake of a movie. Guilty pleasure? Not quite, according to Mike Wirth who wonders, "Why couldn't John Cusack's Hoops McCann have been Hoops Leibowitz?" A Southern, Jewish-American originally from New York, Mike focuses on social justice and identity, fusing complex and personal issues and influences into his art. This autumn, he leads a community mural project with the Charlotte Jewish Federation, commemorating those lost on October 7th. His information design "How Our Laws are Made" was featured on the Daily Show blog in 2011, and lives on at Wikipedia. Listen in as we discuss whammy animations, world-in-world experiences, Better Off Dead, Grosse Pointe Blank, Singles, Chainsaw Date and Hemorrhoids from Hell, Bobcat Goldthwait, comic book icons Archie and Betty and Veronica, and The Goonies, plus silly sequel and prequel ideas for One Crazy Summer.
-
Is Civil War "just a joy ride with some press" or maybe, perhaps, it's a movie full of chaos, evil, the horrors of war, and so much substance that it requires a second or third watch to make sense of it? Artist, illustrator, designer Diane Faye Zerr weighs in on the movie and Kirsten Dunst's character Lee who's a war photographer, plus we talk about the strong roles for women that writer & director Alex Garland has become known for. We also discuss car washes, PTSD, horror, foreshadowing, and the movies Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, and Prisoners. To learn more about Diane, check out her Etsy shop, and follow her on Instagram.
-
President Richard M. Nixon resigned August 9, 1974, and fifty years later the events surrounding his time in office still reverberate. Chief among them, the Watergate scandal and reporting by The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein who began their work in 1972, dramatized in All the President's Men. Pentagram partner Michael Bierut explains why the movie matters, and praises William Goldman's adaptation of the original story by Woodward and Bernstein. Plus, learn about Goldman's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, and The Princess Bride, as well as David Fincher movies Zodiac with The Social Network and Radiohead thrown into the mix. We also discuss cinematographer Gordon Willis, who worked on All the President's Men and was featured in the documentary Keepers of the Magic.
-
Paula Scher calls The Verdict "a favorite" and rightfully so. The performances are spectacular, the mystery keeps you engaged, and the ending leaves a mark. In addition to the movie, we discuss dedication and focus, Better Call Saul, pinball, Cool Hand Luke, and Michael Clayton, although not in that order. Her new book, "Paula Scher: Works" chronicles her early days in the music industry as an art director with CBS Records and Atlantic Records, to the launch of her first studio Koppel & Scher, to her 25-year engagement with Pentagram.
-
What's the best book-to-film adaptation, and could it be Die Hard? Sean McCaul, of Citizen By Design, asserts his deep adoration for the Bruce Willis action flick. Along the way we discuss Frank Lloyd Wright, terrorism, Moonlighting and Blind Date, plus 1994's The Crow. For good measure, we get into Batman and Robin and how the comic book detectives connect to 1995's Die Hard with a Vengeance and Se7en. Plus, because villains can be fun, we touch on 2024's Wicked and 2021's Cruella.
-
Tom Muller kicks off the episode with Highlander's poster design and home video, plus organizing old school cassette libraries. Also includes talk about Highlander II, Time Bandits, Conan the Barbarian, Sponge Bob, The Old Guard, and Henry Cavill's upcoming Highlander remake.
-
Nikki Villagomez knows a thing or two about fonts, not only because she's a designer but also because she's a published author and historian who loves typography. Learn about her new book Culture+Typography: Examples in Font Pairings, and learn about why Pretty in Pink means so much to her. Plus, we touch on Miami Vice, the Brat Pack Brats documentary, Mondrian, and hair gel.
-
Greetings, Programs! Meet designer, writer, curator, and historian Tim Lapetino. Armed with a passion for digital and visual culture, Tim shares insights about Tron, its production, sequels, and video games. WarGames, classic sci-fi, artificial intelligence, and The Big Lebowski also come into play.
-
Is Wrath of Khan the very best of the Star Trek franchise? What can it teach us about artificial intelligence and design thinking? Master and Commander, Saving Private Ryan, Prey, and Echo come into the discussion too with AIGA Austin Fellow and IBM Distinguished Design Executive Oen Michael Hammonds, who works at the intersection of design and business to create meaningful, valuable products and services for people.
-
Award-winning book cover designer Anna Jordan, who's also a competitive swimmer, believes in having a life outside of design. She reveals why My Octopus Teacher means so much to her and how she sets goals in the classroom as a teacher herself, plus we learn why Backstreet Boys altered her life.
- Montre plus
