Do you remember when Bill Ackerman and I revealed our 50 favorite movies episode for the 10-year anniversary of this show?  That was Part One in what eventually has become a trilogy! Little did you know, when I briefly had a Patreon, we did a sequel that was exclusive for subscribers. 

I no longer have Patreon so not only do you get Part Two (50 More Favorites) but also the newly recorded Part Three (Another 50 Favorites), both available the same day as a birthday bonus treat. All in all, not only do you get 150 favorite films from the two of us, but that adds up to a total of 21 hours of podcasting about which movies that we love that you should see. Thank you Bill for committing so much time to this insane endeavor but the trilogy is complete, it is accomplished! Part One: 50 Favorite Films

Part Two: 50 More Favorites

Jim’s List: 200 Favorite Films

Do you remember when Bill Ackerman and I revealed our 50 favorite movies episode for the 10-year anniversary of this show? That was Part One in what eventually has become a trilogy! Little did you know, when I briefly had a Patreon, we did a sequel that was exclusive for subscribers. 

I no longer have Patreon so not only do you get Part Two  (50 More Favorites) but also the newly recorded Part Three (Another 50 Favorites), both available the same day as a birthday bonus treat. All in all, not only do you get 150 favorite films from the two of us, but that adds up to a total of 21 hours of podcasting about which movies that we love that you should see. Thank you Bill for committing so much time to this insane endeavor but the trilogy is complete, it is accomplished!

Part One: 50 Favorite Films

Part Three: Another 50 Favorites

Jim’s List: 200 Favorite Films

Two reasons this podcast exist: Film Junk and Patrick Ripoll. So I'm always grateful when Patrick returns since he's the OG co-host of this show. He's always doing killer work with Reg on 96 Greers that I highly recommend. But I vividly recall two moments of the past decade: his love of Clouds of Sils Maria and my love for Personal Shopper. 

Made a mental note to put French filmmaker Olivier Assayas on the list of potential directors and the time has come to cover him. He will have a movie out later this year but there are plenty of past titles and new discoveries for both of us to discuss even if ultimately, he didn't become an all-time favorite for either of us. We cover the majority of his filmography and have plenty of laughs along the way!

Thank you to Patrick for being a consistently smart, insightful guest with plenty to say. No new episode in April but you'll get two special ones in May featuring Bill Ackerman early in the month and then Mitchell Beaupre later in the month!

Footnote: The opening comes courtesy of Assayas' Cold Water and a time when Patrick broke some glass recording the podcast.

00:00 - 07:36 - Introduction 07:37 - 27:57 - His early work  27:58 - 01:14:20 - Cold Water, Irma Vep 01:14:21 - 01:43:20 - Demonlover, Boarding Gate, Summer Hours 01:43:21 - 02:20:06 - Carlos, Something In The Air, Clouds of Sils Maria 02:20:07 - 02:43:50 - Personal Shopper, Non-Fiction 02:43:51 - 02:50:52 - Top 3 Assayas / Outro

96 Greers! https://ninetysixgreers.podbean.com/

The epic yearly retrospectives continue as we travel back 30 years to rewatch, reconsider and share favorites along with many memories too! Join me on this 6-hour plus journey alongside Chicago critics Erik Childress and Collin Souter. Many laughs, songs, clips, trailers, excerpts and so much more! Thank you so much for the support and for listening. And of course, thank you so much to Collin & Erik for spending time nerding out about a wide range of titles. For all the retrospective episodes click here and see you next year for 1995.

https://www.directorsclubpodcast.com/archives/yearsinreview

Follow Collin:  https://letterboxd.com/cdsouter/

Follow Erik: https://letterboxd.com/erikthemovieman/

My 1994 List: https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski/list/1994-year-in-review/

Check Out the List We Follow: https://tinyurl.com/mrrepcat

When I first saw Hiroshima Mon Amour, this particular director went on the long list of names I wanted to cover. Alain Resnais is an internationally acclaimed film director, associated with both the Left Bank Group and the Nouvelle Vague. His preoccupation with the themes of time, memory and history, and his dazzling exploration of cinematographic technique, made him one of France’s most distinctive and influential filmmakers for over 60 years, inspiring the likes of David Lynch & Michel Gondry.

For this episode, previous guest and friend to the show Kate Blair (who joined me for Agnes Varda) returns for a delightful discussion on close to ten films of his, including a high recommendation of some of his short films as well at the end. Then I'm taking the rest of the month off to concentrate on prepping for the epic 1994 retrospective recording the first weekend of March. Thank you to Kate for a great conversation on a filmmaker I grew to love the more we talked about him. 

Follow Kate: https://letterboxd.com/selective_kate

The title of this episode says it all. Over four hours of nerdy movie conversations and recommendations all about the year 2023. Two Director's Club mainstays return. Bill Ackerman (host of Supporting Characters and guest host of this show) along with Patrick Ripoll (co-host of 96 Greers) join me as well all share their favorite films of 2023.

No categories this year (like Best Actor, etc.) but plenty of reflection, surprising disagreement and even a wild story about what happened when Patrick tried to see one of Jim's favorites. Thank you so much for the support this past year, listeners. And huge thanks to Patrick and Bill for joining me again.

Opening Song: “Scaring The Hoes” - JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown Closing Song: “I Don’t Like My Mind” - Mitski

00:00 - 23:14 - Introduction / Thoughts on 2023 23:15 - 01:23:34 -  #25-11 Favorites 01:23:35 - 01:28:59 - Chloe Waryan's Favorites 01:29:00 - 02:44:20 - #10-6 02:44:21 - 04:20:00 - #5-1 04:20:01 - 04:29:00 - Outro

Follow Bill: https://letterboxd.com/billackerman https://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/supportingcharacters

Follow Patrick: https://bsky.app/profile/uptownsongclub.bsky.social https://ninetysixgreers.podbean.com

Follow Jim: https://linktr.ee/jimlaczkowski https://5years.substack.com

Happy New Year! This is a podcast. The Director’s Club Podcast. Maybe you should get a coffee first before listening. A coffee and a muffin might help. Gosh I’m so tired. But what a way to start the new year. Podcasting with a wonderful person like Sharon. Then editing it. Then writing these show notes. The thing that you’re reading right now. Or maybe you’re not reading this, you’re listening to the podcast. Wouldn’t it be weird if suddenly you were on the podcast? You the listener? Sometimes it all blurs and blends together. Anyway, you’re probably wondering who this podcast episode is all about. I also cheated a little this time because the first three movies, he didn’t even direct.

I’m talking about my favorite writer, Charlie Kaufman who is responsible for my 2nd favorite movie Synecdoche New York among many other incredible screenplays most of us know and love. More importantly, joining me for this lively discussion is the creator of the Mental Filmness Film Festival, Sharon Gissy. She’s also a huge fan of Charlie Kaufman and I knew she would bring a lot of insight, passion and joy to the podcast. If you’re a fan of Synecdoche, hopefully you enjoy the final minute (in other stay til the very end). In about a week, the favorite films of 2023 episode will drop featuring Patrick Ripoll and Bill Ackerman. What a way to start the year and I couldn’t be happier getting to talk about the great Charlie Kaufman with Sharon.

00:00 - 10:20 - Introduction 10:21 - 32:21 - Being John Malkovich32:22 - 01:11:59 - Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine01:12:00 - 01:59:13 - Synecdoche New York, Anomalisa01:59:14 - 02:20:02 - I’m Thinking of Ending Things / Outro02:20:03 - 02:21:11 - Jim Directs You Via Earpiece

Sharon’s Film Festival: https://mentalfilmness.com

Jim’s Writing: https://5years.beehiiv.com Charlie Kaufman’s Other Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvlzjSBbYNQ

Just in time for turkey day, in which we have a lot to be thankful for, comes this delightful discussion with plenty of fixins. Fresh from their excellent new podcast, A Tripp Through Comedy, two new guests join me but I've been following them ever since we all met during Triviaspotting. Ross Bratin and Tripp Burton join me to talk all about the filmography of Frank Oz, someone each of us love and grew up with - whether as a Muppet or as a director, his achievements and talent are immeasurable. 

We start with his very first solo gig as a director, The Muppets Take Manhattan and go all the way up to his last narrative feature, Death at a Funeral. We discover some thematic ties and most importantly, we have lots of laughs due to Oz's incredible skills as a comedic filmmaker. In other words, mostly (but not entirely) a love fest for someone that we hope gets together again to make another film in the future. But if not, we're glad he accomplished so much throughout his career. Thank you so much to Tripp & Ross and to you for listening!

00:00 - 36:29 - Intro / Get To Know Ross + Tripp 36:30 - 01:21:27 - The Muppets Take Manhattan, Little Shop Of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 01:21:28 - 01:48:47 - What About Bob?, Housesitter, The Indian in the Cupboard 01:48:48 - 02:27:15 - In & Out, Bowfinger, The Score 02:27:16 - 02:56:43 - The Stepford Wives, Death at A Funeral 02:56:44 - 03:07:30 - Top 3 Frank Oz Films / Outro

Follow Ross: https://letterboxd.com/rbratin https://twitter.com/rbratin

Follow Tripp: https://letterboxd.com/enb3 https://twitter.com/TrippBurton13

A Tripp Through Comedy: https://twitter.com/attcpod

Jim Is Here: https://linktr.ee/jimlaczkowski https://5years.substack.com

This episode is about the same running time as The Conjuring 2! Why does a horror movie need to be well over two hours? One might inquire to breakthrough horror filmmaker James Wan and that's exactly what I set out to do for this Halloween spooktacular! This is my favorite month of the year for a reason!

Well, actually we have another delightful episode due in large part to a very special guest making her Director's Club debut. Joining me is librarian and Instagram sensation Chloe Waryan to talk all about the current state of horror while reviewing the work of James Wan, covering the majority of his filmography, particularly the franchises he helped to create which changed the face of horror forever! Chloe also recommends some recent horror films and books she has loved and much more! Thank you Chloe and thank you listeners. Happy Halloween! 

P.S We do spoil these films (Malignant especially) so you’ve been warned!

00:00 - 14:36 - Intro / Getting To Know Our Guest 14:37 - 39:24 - James Wan + Saw 39:25 - 01:25:54 - Insidious + The Conjuring Films 01:25:54 - 01:59:44 - Malignant + Other Wan Films 01:59:45 - 02:21:33 - Chloe's Recommendations / Top 3 Wan / Outro

Follow Chloe's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloesnotscared

Check Out Chloe's Website: https://chloesnotscared.com

Follow Chloe On Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/chlobot

Follow Jim On Substack: https://5years.substack.com

The new episode arrives a few days later than planned (since it was scheduled to be our September episode) but nevertheless, we have a delightfully animated episode on tap here featuring another two of my favorite podcasters. The talented, prolific Billy Ray Brewton (of The Incinerator Podcast & Movie Mixtapes) joins me alongside his good friend and co-host Ryan Verrill, who also has own podcast that I highly recommend called The Disc-Connected. We learn about their passion projects and their origin stories at the start since this is their first time on!

Together we three have delved into the legendary work of one Don Bluth, the man brave enough to depart from Disney at a time when their output wasn’t the strongest. He set out to make his own distinguishable work and was mostly successful particularly at the start of his career as a director. Then there are a couple of weird detours along the way (oh Rock-A-Doodle) but even a late career highlight that ends up being a favorite of ours! This was such a joy and for you animation fans of the 80s and 90s, I have a feeling you’ll feel as nostalgic as we did taking this journey. Coming in about three weeks - something completely different - for the next episode, I’ll be stuck in another dimension alongside librarian Chloe Waryan for a spooky discussion on Mr. James Wan! Thank you all for listening and thank you to Billy Ray & Ryan for joining me!

00:00 - 27:14 - Introduction / Origins of Billy Ray + Ryan 27:15 - 58:54 - Secret of NIMH, An American Tail 58:55 - 01:23:59 - Land Before Time, All Dogs Go To Heaven 01:24:00 - 01:46:52 - Rock-A-Doodle, Thumbelina, Troll in Central Park, Pebble & Penguin 01:46:53 - 02:08:00 - Anastasia, Titan A.E. 02:08:01 - 02:20:58 - Top 3 Favorites / Outro

Jim's Substack, etc: https://5years.substack.comhttps://linktr.ee/jimlaczkowski https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski

Billy Ray's Podcast, etc: https://linktr.ee/billyraybrewton https://twitter.com/incineratorpod https://letterboxd.com/billyraybrewton https://www.patreon.com/incineratorpod

Ryan's Podcast, etc: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiscConnected https://twitter.com/disc_connected https://letterboxd.com/disc_connected https://www.patreon.com/DiscConnected

Wendell B. Harris Jr. is an American independent filmmaker trained in drama at Interlochen and Juilliard. His family founded Prismatic Images, a multi-award-winning film/video/audio production facility in Flint, Michigan, in 1979 and he broke onto the scene by making the breakthrough Sundance smash, Chameleon Street just one year after Steven Soderbergh broke with his debut film. 

One of my favorite film critics, Robert Daniels joins me to talk about Chameleon Street and the reason why it was Harris' only film to date. (He has tried many times to get projects greenlit but it still hasn't happened as of this recording). Robert and I celebrate the audacity of this remarkable talent both in front of the camera and behind it. Before that, we learn about Robert's background and have a discussion on the current state of film criticism. Then later on, we preview our next conversation for next year on Charles Burnett and more!

00:00 - 41:30 - Introduction / Views on Film Criticism 41:31 - 01:34:55 - Chameleon Street / Wendall B. Harris 01:34:56 - 02:06:33 - Other Films / Outro

Follow Robert's Work: https://twitter.com/812filmreviews

https://substack.com/@812filmreviews

https://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/robert-daniels

Buy The New Chameleon Street Blu-Ray: https://shoparbelosfilms.com/products/le-chameleon-street-blu-ray