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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

44:45

How Many Drafts? (Cutting Room Floor #218)

Film School ·

2024/09/26

How many drafts is the right number of drafts??? Is it okay to write the thing once and then call it done? Or do we need to write and rewrite and edit and write some more and more and more? Or...is it something in between? Josh and Ira discuss what works for them! Also, Josh again recommends Chernobyl on Max, and Ira recommends Mountain Queen which is on Netflix.

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52:38

To Catch A Thief (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #41)

Film School ·

2024/09/23

The cat has a new kitten... Hitch and Grace Kelly team up again, this time with Cary Grant swapped in for Jimmy Stewart, and the vast, gorgeous French Riviera rather than a single, confined apartment. Grant plays a jewel thief being framed for a robbery he didn't actually commit, and Grace is the woman he falls for. We watch and discuss!

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55:30

How Much Of Greatness Is Up To The Muse? (Cutting...

Film School ·

2024/09/19

Back in Ira's DJing days, he put together literally hundreds of sets. An interesting pattern developed during that time: no matter how much his skill increased as he went (and it did), some sets just worked better than others. Some were great, others weren't, and no amount of skill could make a set great that wasn't from the outset. So...just how much of greatness comes from the Muse? And how much is due to skill and within our control? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends Chernobyl on Max, and Ira

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59:15

Rear Window Revisited (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #40)

Film School ·

2024/09/16

That's a secret, private world you're looking into out there... It's Hitchcock's first true classic. Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly star in one of the crime film concepts for the ages: a man is laid up with a broken leg and a view out his window into the apartment courtyards behind his building...and he thinks he witnesses a murder. What a delight to revisit this film and watch it again (the first time being back on the AFI's Top 100, of which this film ranked #56)! Join us!

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47:28

How To Use Feedback (Cutting Room Floor #216)

Film School ·

2024/09/12

The feedback loop is at the heart of developing any skill. But, the vast majority of the work we do as storytellers is done alone. So, where and when do you open yourself up for other people to comment on? And once get that feedback, what do we DO with it? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends some of his all-time favorite shows, The Office (UK), Arrested Development, Whites, W1A, and People Just Do Nothing, and Ira recommends Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War which is on Netflix.

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01:00:06

Dial M For Murder (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #39)

Film School ·

2024/09/09

Do you really believe in the perfect murder...? Hitchcock certainly does! This time, it's a man who wants to knock off his cheating wife. Can he get away with it??? Or can the old school, meticulous, quiet Scotland Yard inspector see through it all and figure it out? We watch and find out :)

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59:30

Rhetoric (Cutting Room Floor #215)

Film School ·

2024/09/05

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

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50:01

I Confess (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #38)

Film School ·

2024/09/02

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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53:41

Alternate Endings (Cutting Room Floor #214)

Film School ·

2024/08/19

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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57:14

Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #37)

Film School ·

2024/08/12

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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31:17

When to Kill a Character (Cutting Room Floor #213)

Film School ·

2024/08/08

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

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49:22

Stage Fright (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #36)

Film School ·

2024/08/05

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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38:20

Antiheroes (Cutting Room Floor #212)

Film School ·

2024/08/02

What makes a great anti-hero?

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54:59

Under Capricorn (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #35)

Film School ·

2024/07/29

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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48:22

Will Success Fix Me? (Cutting Room Floor #211)

Film School ·

2024/07/08

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

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53:27

Rope (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #34)

Film School ·

2024/07/01

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

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43:33

Why Is Your Process So Different From Mine? (Cutting...

Film School ·

2024/06/27

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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49:47

The Paradine Case (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #33)

Film School ·

2024/06/24

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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43:38

All At Once vs. Slow & Steady (Cutting Room Floor #209)

Film School ·

2024/06/17

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),

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01:01:57

Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #32)

Film School ·

2024/06/10

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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87 results

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