Episodi
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Have you ever thought of your script, book, or film as a persuasive argument? It is. Drama quite literally arises from two (or several) characters with very different, very persuasive points of view clashing with each other. That's called rhetoric. And if our characters' rhetorical skill can only ever be as strong as the person who wrote that character...well, maybe we all of us writers need to work on our rhetoric, don't we? The better our rhetorical skills become, the more persuasive our characters become, the more compelling our stories become. We discuss that dynamic.
Also, Josh recommends Top Chef on Peacock, and Ira recommends the Shrek series of movies, also on Peacock.
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I want to make a confession...
Hitchcock has a nose for a character in a bind, and that's on full display with this one, where a priest takes confession from a murderer, then becomes the main suspect in that very same murder. Will he break his oath as a priest and tell the authorities the truth? Or will he hang for another man's crime? We watch and find out!
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Episodi mancanti?
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So, you've heard about a movie that has MULTIPLE endings. Maybe they're in the actual film, maybe they're extras on the DVD, or maybe they're just rumors and old scripts. What place do those hold in the context of good storytelling? Are they untapped goldmines, or are they the cast-offs of the perfecting process? We discuss!
Also, Josh recommends X-Men '97 on Disney+, and Ira recommends Andor also on Disney+.
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You do my murder, and I do yours...
We might best know Patricia Highsmith from The Talented Mr. Ripley, but Strangers on a Train was her shocking debut novel, and folks: it slaps even as a movie, and ESPECIALLY in the hands of an Alfred Hitchcock who really feels like he's learned a thing or two about telling suspenseful stories. This one is a TRIP. Buckle up!
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Off with their head! Sometimes, a character has to die. But, when are those times? When is it right for the audience or the reader to kill a character? Are there rules, or at least guidelines, around when to bump somebody off for the best effect on your story? We brainstorm from our own experience, and we use a wonderful write-up from onestopforwriters.com on the subject to answer those questions.
Also, Josh again recommends Scavenger's Reign on Netflix, and Ira recommends The Hunt for Red October on Max.
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Go or don't go, it's all the same. I thought you loved me...
Hitchcock teams up with legend of the silent era Marlene Dietrich as a stage actress who's murdered her husband and enlisted her lover's help to try and cover it up. We're also back in the UK! After a couple flops, it certainly feels like Hitch is trying very hard to make a hit. Does it work? We watch and discuss!
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What makes a great anti-hero?
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In seventeen-hundred and seventy, Captain Cook discovered Australia...
Hitchcock tries his hand at the high-brow romantic drama of a young man falling in love with a once-glorious woman now living in exile and the bottle. Certainly not what one thinks of when they're imagining a Hitch joint. Does it work? We watch and discuss!
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Bestseller. Top of the Box Office. Hit TV show. Oscar. Millions...success will fix everything, right? I mean, it's literally what we're chasing so hard, the tippy top of our dreams, how could it possibly NOT fix us, right? RIGHT? Hmmm. So, what if it doesn't? What if success were only to make our personal issues WORSE? Oh, god. Perhaps the work on ourselves is actually something else entirely, and something we can start right here, right now. We talk about it.
Also, Josh once again (is that a straight month, now?) recommends The Terror S1, and Ira recommends Remembering Gene Wilder on Netflix.
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Murder can be an art, too...
So, Hitchcock is doing some THINGS. He's out on his own away from Selznick for the first time in Hollywood, and he's come out with a big swing: can we shoot a movie with no cuts? All one take? Or, at least the illusion of that? And how would such a real-time filming method influence the drama that unfolds? Kinda blew our mind that--apparently--Hitch was the first director to ever try this. And he has ol' Jimmy Stewart along for the ride to add some gravitas. So, how did it work? We watch and discuss!
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You've probably heard this before: there is no ONE WAY to be a writer. Or a filmmaker. Or an actor, or a painter, or a dancer, or a sculptor...the possibilities, personalities, and pathways are endless. Why is that? And if its true, how can I find my own way? We discuss and answer!
Also, Josh recommends The Terror Season 1 (again!), and Ira recommends Scavenger's Reign which is currently on Netflix.
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I loved Andre Latour, and you murdered him...
It's the last rodeo for Alfred Hitchcock and David O. Selznick, the last time the two work together. And this time, it's written by the producer himself. We have ourselves a murder, a mysterious, beautiful woman accused, and a dashing young lawyer who's convinced she didn't do it. So, how does it all shake out? Do Hitch and Selznick find one last bit of magic? We watch and find out!
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What's the best way to work: burst energy, get it out as hard and fast as you possibly can go go go don't stop...or slow and steady, this is a marathon not a sprint, and you can't just drop everything when life never stops, so drip drip it away, one brick at a time until you're finally done? Spoiler: it's not an either/or. It's BOTH. We talk about how we've applied both concepts to our own creativity.
Also, Josh recommends The Terror Season 1 (again), and Ira recommends Welcome to Wrexham (again), which is on Hulu, AND Chernobyl, which is on HBO/Max.
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Say it again, it keeps me awake. ...I love you...
Ingrid Bergman and Hitchcock go back to back! This time its Cary Grant she teams up with, in a tale of international espionage, manipulation, uranium, and...love. All things Hitch has covered before, but not quite like this. Grant and Bergman heat up the silver screen. We watch and discuss!
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On this podcast, we've talked before about BAD habits and how to break them. But what about GOOD habits? What about that stuff that we know we SHOULD be doing, but it's hard to get going? Josh and Ira talk about how it works for them.
Also, Josh recommends The Terror Season 1 (again), and Ira recommends Welcome to Wrexham, which is on Hulu.
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Amnesia: the trick of the mind for remaining sane...
You see "Dream Sequence by Salvador Dali" in the credits and you get excited! Hitch is doing some things with this one. We're going super psychological with it. Like SUPER psychological. Gregory Peck doesn't remember who he is, but he's convinced he's a murderer. Ingrid Bergman is convinced that he isn't...and that he's sane. How does it all shake out? We watch, find out, and discuss!
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It's so, sooooo hard when you're starting out. We all look forward to the day where it gets easier. The thought of the work just pumping out of us, amazing and free, kinda keeps us going in those early, dark, hard days. But...DOES it get any easier? We ask each other and discuss.
Also, Josh recommends The Terror Season 1, and Ira recommends Eurotrip, and The Three Amigos, the latter of which is on Prime.
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Dying together's even more personal than living together...
Hitchcock plays with setting this time around, confining his ENTIRE FILM to a single lifeboat. And it doesn't pull any punches. Dead babies, murder, suicide, paranoia, love, hate, desperation, and brutal violence...it all takes place on that tiny boat. This film really goes for it. We watch and discuss!
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So you want to be a writer. You're interested in a life of storytelling. Long term. What do you need to know? Or, as someone who's already dedicated themselves to a lifetime of spinning tales, what would you say to someone who was interested in doing the same? As a pair that fall into the latter, Josh and Ira discuss!
Also, Josh recommends The Angry Video Game Nerd (originally The Angry Nintendo Nerd) on YouTube, and Ira recommends Baby Reindeer on Netflix.
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The cities are full of women...
Alfred transports us to small-town America this time, a land of unlocked doors, everyone knows everyone, and the world is full of innocence. But then Uncle Charlie comes home, and all that idealism starts to unravel. Uncle Charlie is hiding something. He might not be who young "Charlie" (Charlotte) thought he was. Hitchcock is on record as saying this is his personal favorite of his films. We watch and discuss!
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