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PODCAST

Film School

Ira Heinichen, Joshua McClenney

A filmmaker and a writer tackle the AFI"s Top 100 Films and beyond to educate themselves about movies and storytelling. Welcome to Film School!

tv & film film history

All Episodes

40:32

Writing Evil (Cutting Room Floor #226)

Film School ·

2025/01/23

The Darkness is out there. Everyone can feel evil working in the shadows of the real world, however figurative or literal you want to attribute it. So, naturally, evil plays a big part in our stories; it behooves us storytellers to know how to effectively represent it. How do we do that? Josh and Ira talk through their own personal tips and tricks. Also, Josh recommends Hotel Hell, and Ira recommends The Batman, which is on Max.

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01:03:57

The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #48)

Film School ·

2025/01/20

It's the end of the world! Hitch backs up the classic Psycho with another horror film, but this time it's nature itself that's out for humanity rather than one of our own. What would happen if all the birds in the world suddenly turned against us? Would we stand a chance? That's the very simple question at the heart of this one that will have you looking at our feathered friends veerrryyy differently by the end of it. We watch and discuss!

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32:54

Level Up! (Cutting Room Floor #225)

Film School ·

2025/01/16

Should I stay or should I go now? It takes SO MUCH EFFORT to reach a plateau--a new level--it can be absolutely daunting to consider doing it all over again to reach the NEXT plateau--the next level. So...how long is it okay to sit back and rest on one's laurels? How long is it okay to stay on one level before mustering up the courage and energy to take on the next? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends Ink, which is on Tubi, and Ira (tentatively) recommends Arcane Season One, which is on Netflix.

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01:00:42

Psycho Revisited (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #47)

Film School ·

2025/01/13

We all go a little mad sometimes... Welcome to the birth (debatedly) of the slasher film! Hitch might not have been the absolute FIRST to dive into the mind of a twisted serial killer, but he arguably is the most influential to have ever done it. This movie is...well, quite simply: one of the best films ever made. Anthony Perkins is spectacular, as is the music, the black and white photography, the twists, everything. What a pleasure to go back and watch this one again, and what an ending for what

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50:49

2025 Resolutions, Goals, and Intentions (Cutting Room...

Film School ·

2025/01/06

Happy New Year!!! With the holidays now in the rear view, our thoughts turn to the year ahead: 2025. What do you have planned for this coming year? What do you want to get done? Where do you want to go? What do you want to accomplish? Josh and Ira answer those questions for themselves, and we invite you to do the same!

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01:09:10

2024 Retrospective (Cutting Room Floor #223)

Film School ·

2024/12/30

Another year gone! 2024, we hardly knew thee... What will you remember this year for? What's going to come to mind when you think of 2024? What were the victories and the defeats? The adventures? The high points and the low points? Josh and Ira answer those questions for themselves, and invite you to consider and answer for yourself. Here's to 2024!

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01:05:28

Elf

Film School ·

2024/12/23

Buddy the Elf--what’s your favorite color? Will Ferrel brings us a modern holiday classic as the man who was raised by elves up in the North Pole and has just found out he was adopted...so off he goes to meet his real father in the land of humans: New York City. It's Ferrel at his best, the fish out of water, the giant fool with a heart of gold and innocent wisdom...which is also perfect for Christmas. We watch and discuss!

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01:15:07

The Family Man

Film School ·

2024/12/16

I've seen what we could be like together... Nicholas Cage has it all! The penthouse apartment, the eight-figure bank account, and all the solitude in the world. What else could a man want? Well, he's about to fin dout. A mysterious Don Cheadle plops him into the middle of what his life would have been like had he chosen love and family instead. It's A Christmas Carol meets It's A Wonderful Life. Nic Cages it up. Tea Leoni is spectacular. The kids are to die for. Does it all come together? We watch

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56:37

North By Northwest Revisited (Alfred Hitchcock Deep...

Film School ·

2024/12/09

You gentlemen aren't REALLY trying to kill my son, are you...? Might be Ira's favorite Hitchcock. It's the prototypical spy film, predates even James Bond, except that this spy is actually just a regular dude. Handsome Cary Grant, of course, but he's pulled into an international conspiracy entirely by mistake. Chock full of some of the most iconic sequences ever put to film. What a time '59 must have been! We're (again) watching...North By Northwest!

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55:07

The Power Of Finished (Cutting Room Floor #222)

Film School ·

2024/12/02

Finishing something can make a lot of things suddenly become clear. There are revelations about our work that can literally only be gained by seeing something through and marking it as "done" in our own heads. So...what have we learned, Josh and Ira, in finishing our own projects? We discuss. Also, Josh recommends Annihilation which is playing on Pluto TV, and Ira recommends Succession with is on HBO and Max.

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01:19:35

Vertigo Revisited (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #45)

Film School ·

2024/11/25

You shouldn't keep souvenirs of a killing... We're back to Vertigo! The last time we watched this one, it was late summer of 2021, deep in the AFI's Top 100 list. Top ten, in fact. Seems like an age ago, and yet, the movie took us right back there. It's still great, undeniably one of Hitch's absolute best; probably the closest he ever got to a proper film noir, stunningly shot in San Francisco, a spectacular sound track, some neat camera work, A-list cast, and a screenplay the zips and zig-zags. A

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50:22

DVD Extras (Cutting Room Floor #221)

Film School ·

2024/11/18

Josh calls DVD Extras his film school. The interviews, commentaries, documentaries, featurettes, and other bonus material has been as valuable in his filmmaker education as any class or study. We talk about the benefits of all this extra material around movie making that you might not be tapping into. Also, Josh recommends Kitchen Nightmares, and Ira recommends the original Star Trek movies, and Grand Designs.

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01:12:03

The Wrong Man (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #44)

Film School ·

2024/11/11

An innocent man has nothing to fear... Alfred is doing something new this time: he's telling a true story, every word of it, top to bottom. Henry Fonda plays Manny Balestrero, bass player at the famous Stork Club and father of two, just scraping by to support them. And then he's fingered for being the hold-up man terrorizing the neighborhood shops and offices. But he didn't do it. Except the police think he did. Will he go down for a crime he didn't commit, or will the justice system to him and his

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40:15

Strangeness (Cutting Room Floor #220)

Film School ·

2024/11/07

Harold Bloom defined 'strangeness' as a mark of originality that is endemic and absolutely required for any work of literary art to be considered a masterpiece or a classic. Dan Simmons goes further to define it as a quality in the writing or storytelling that indicates to us, the reader (or viewer for Film/TV), are in the presence of an intelligence that is unique or different enough to be able to teach us something about ourselves. So...how does one achieve 'strangeness?' Is it something that can

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52:48

The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive...

Film School ·

2024/11/04

A man... a statesman... is to be killed... Hitchcock does his one and only remake! Twenty+ years earlier, back in his British period, he did this story once before, under the exact same name! So...does he mix it up? Does he IMPROVE on the original? We watch and find out!

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01:04:41

Ghostbusters II

Film School ·

2024/10/28

Let's suck in the guts, guys. We're the Ghostbusters... Bustin' still makes us feel good! The boys are back and saving New York yet again from the spookies. It's been five years, everyone has done a bit of going their separate ways, but there are shenanigans afoot. Ghosts need busting! Can they capture some of the magic of the original? We watch and find out. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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01:15:38

Poltergeist

Film School ·

2024/10/14

They're here... This movie is the perfect horror film for beginners; Spooky 101, if you will. It's not super violent, super scary, or super disturbing...but it DOES bring the noise. It IS scary, and unquestionably a horror movie that gets appropriate crazy by the end. It exists in that weird middle-ground between E.T. and Nightmare on Elm Street, and in that way, there's nothing out there quite like it. It's undeniably a classic. We watch, we scream, and we discuss!

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01:04:44

Ghostbusters

Film School ·

2024/10/07

Who you gonna call? It's hard to understate just how large of an impression this movie made on the kids who grew up in the 1980s (and 90s). This movie felt like it was EVERYONE'S favorite movie. Deadpanned Bill Murray, nerdy Harold Ramis, golden retriever Dan Akroyd, skeptical/wtf Ernie Banks, goofy Slimer, possessed Sigourney Weaver, that-neighbor Rick Moranis...it's alchemy. One of those films that captured magic. We're watching it!

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46:22

Getting Older (Cutting Room Floor #219)

Film School ·

2024/10/03

What's it liked to get older? As Josh and Ira dip their toes into 'middle age,' things start to change. You're not old yet, but you're not young anymore. Some things improve. Some things get worse. Ya boys talk about it. Enjoy! Also, Josh recommends Seinfeld which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends Alien 3, which is currently on Disney+.

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48:43

The Trouble With Harry (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #42)

Film School ·

2024/09/30

I think, Captain Wiles, we're tangled up in a murder... Old Al is trying his hand again at a comedy. This time, its a country community with a dead body on their hands, and they don't want anyone to know about it. Hitch's comedies have been hit and miss so far. How does this one stack up? We watch and discuss :)

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