Podcast
The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast
Hosted by A L Katz · EN
Now in our FIFTH SEASON! Join us for a deep, inside baseball, nuts-n-bolts dive into the creative process. Guests include actors like MALCOLM MCDOWELL and BRANDON ROUTH, writers LARRY WILSON (BEETLEJUICE) and CY VORIS & ETHAN REIFF (DEMON KNIGHT) and everyone I know who's ever collaborated to create content. We talk a lot about TALES FROM THE CRYPT and why, in so many ways, that epitomized the creative process at its best... and why Bordello Of Blood (the second Crypt-branded feature film, Demon Knight was the first) was its antithesis. Talk about how NEVER to make a movie!
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24episodes
Episodes
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S5E8 Postcards From Showbiz Mountain
6d ago00:55:16Tap to summarizeIN THIS EPISODE My dear friend and former agent/manager Nick Mechanic returns to talk about the current stage of movies, TV and deal-making. It's not a pretty picture, but the challenge of conquering and staying on Showbiz Mountain is part of the lure for some people. Like Nick. As we'll discuss, the most difficult part of Showbiz Mountain isn't climbing onto it in the first place, it's staying on Showbiz Mountain once you've summited it. That's what ultimately undoes most people.SHOW NOTESIf you enjoy this podcast, please check out all our others at Costard & Touchstone. Your next podcast obsession is just a click away! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S5E7 A Man Called Elliot
2w ago01:00:11Tap to summarizeIn This Episode We pay tribute to our grood friend, the director ELLIIOT SILVERSTEIN (Cat Ballou, A Man Called Horse, The Car, Tales From The Crypt). Elliot was a consumate craftsman as a director. Beyond the craft, he also was a strong union guy who was instrumental in making the Director's Guild of America the powerhouse union it is today. Elliot takes us inside his remarkable, detail-oriented process. This really is a master class in 'How To Be A Movie Director".SHOW NOTESIf you enjoy this podcast, please check out our others at Costard & Touchstone! Your next podcast obsession is just a click away. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S5E6 World Class Actor
3w ago01:08:38Tap to summarizeIN THIS EPISODE You've almost certainly seen actor Mark Ivanir's work - even if you don't recognize him. He's that prolific - and that good at disappearing into the roles he's playing. Among Mark's work: Schindler's List, Emelia Perez, 7 Days In Entebbe, Homeland, Mayor of Kingstown, Babylon Berlin and Big Mistakes. Mark's story outside his acting work is equally fasciniating. We talk about his role in helping the Jews of Ethiopia escape to Israel as part of Operation Solomon in 1991 - a breathtakingly bold intelligence mission.SHOW NOTESIf you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of what we do at Costard & Touchstone. Your next great podcast binge is just a click away!Note: this episode was originally published April11, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S5E5 The Importance Of Being Ernest
4w ago01:33:12Tap to summarizeIN THIS EPISODE - As we've talked about in the podcast, when Universal Pictures first ordered three "Tales From The Crypt" branded feature films, Gil Adler and I were supposed to write the movie and Gil was supposed to direct the first. But Gil and I wanted to do something less conventional while the Crypt Partners and Universal wanted something more traditional - like, say, a monster movie. So, Gil and I opted to make the second Crypt feature (which became the ill-fated Bordello Of Blood) and we hired Ernest Dickerson (a terrific filmmaker in his own right and Spike Lee's former director of photography on movies like "She's Gotta Have It", "Do The Right Thing", "Mo Better Blues", "Jungle Fever" and "Malcolm X"). Ernest talks about all the influences that guided him (he's a huuuuuge horror fan) and his approach to filmmaking in general and to the various challenges of making "Demon Knight".SHOW NOTESIf you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of what we do at Costard & Touchstone. Your next great podcast binge is just a click away!Note: this episode was originally published June13, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S5E4 Killer Klowns
Jul 801:17:44Tap to summarizeIN THIS EPISODE we catch up with the special effects makeup masters the Chiodo Brothers. Way, way back in the day, Alan & Gil talked about hitchinig their collective creative wagons together. In this sit-down, two of the brothers, Stephen and Charles, join Alan & Gil for a free-ranging celebration of all things horror. But especially that place where horror and comedy co-exist like, well, brothers.SHOW NOTESIf you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of what we do at Costard & Touchstone. Your next great podcast binge is just a click away!Note: this episode was originally published October 29, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S5E3 Valkyrie
Jul 101:21:35Tap to summarizeIN THIS EPISODE When it comes to producing Big Studio Tentpole Movies - the summer or Christmas blockbuster that the studio is counting on to make its year - no one was/is better than this podcast's occasional co-host GIL ADLER. After Gil and Alan parted ways and ended their decade-long creative partnership and friendship, Gil went on to become Warner Bros go-to tentpole guy. He oversaw Superman Returns, Constantine and Valkyrie, all with budgets near or above $200 million. Valkyrie proved to be especially challenging for Gil on a number of different fronts. Here, Gil dives deeply into the experience of making that movie and in the high stakes game of Major Studio Movie Production.SHOW NOTESEnjoying this podcast? Please check out all the other podcasts at Costard & Touchstone. Your next podcast binge is just a click away! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S5E2 Character Acting As High Art
Jun 2401:00:21Tap to summarizeIIN THIS EPISODE: Leading actors come and go but good character actors are eternal. Actors like our very good friend William Sadler embody a kind of character actor perfection. Bill's easygoing charm can play anywhere on the good v evil spectrum. Hell, one of Bill's best known characters is The Grim Reaper, a seemingly larger-than-life character turned endearingly neurotic (and hilarious) by Bill's granular approach to his craft. SHOW NOTES Note: As our original publishing platform no longer exists, we are republishing this interview here. It was originally published November 8, 2022.If you enjoy this podcast, please check out our other (growing roster) of podcasts at Costard & Touchstone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S5E1 Crypt Is Finally Screaming!
Jun 1100:54:46Tap to summarizeTHE BLURB: In this bonus episode, we celebrate the fact that "Tales From The Crypt" at long, long last is finally streaming (on the horror platform Shudder!) and it's definitely a cause for celebration. Joining us to celebrate is our friend, the entertainment journalist (and Crypt super fan) Kristen Lopez. We'll talk about Crypt's curious journey to streaming and share other backstage stories. We'll also talk about everything else that Kristen's working on (a great podcast, a great blog and a number of bookd). That includes "an Oral History Of Tales From The Crypt" which is due out next year!SHOW NOTESIf you enjoy this podcast, please visit Costard & Touchstone Productions to sample our other podcasts. Your next great podcast experience is just a click away! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S4E14: It Isn't Goodbye
Apr 15, 202500:39:07Tap to summarizeI’ve been making this podcast for going on four years now. A hundred sixty plus episodes – one a week ever since they first started dropping. It’s been a joy…A pleasure…A challenge…A non-stop revelation…And a mission. A mission that goes beyond this podcast.It's because of this podcast that I ended up plunging completely into podcasting. Costard and Touchstone makes this podcast and three others currently available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts - with a dozen or so more on the way!There's THE DONOR: A DNA HORROR STORY, THE HALL CLOSET and SAGE WELLNESS WITHIIN. In the months ahead, please look out for more Costard & Touchstone podcasts including "JUST THE PHOTOGRAPHER" (where photojournalist DAVID SWANSON puts you right beside him in war zones, 9-11 and at the Oscars), "A SECRET WAR" (journalist MANILA CHAN'S deep dive into a story she's fought to tell for 25 years about America's Secret War on Laos, "I NEED TO TELL YOU", journalist TOM LOWENSTEIN's explorations into stories like criminal mastermind JOHN HALL and "JOHN KIRIAKOU'S DEAD DROP" (a deep, under cover look at life deep under cover by a former CIA officer).Please stay in touch via our PATREON PAGE - Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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S4E13: Sailing To The Edge
Apr 8, 202501:08:20Tap to summarizeTHE BLURB: Sailor, Author and Podcaster PAUL TRAMMELL talks SAILING TO THE EDGE and the ongoing ADVENTURE that is his daily life - the stuff he writes about: SURFING WITH SHARKS, CANOEING with ALLIGAOTRS, in general, craving DANGER and SAVORING SOLITUDE. SHOW NOTES:One of the things I love talking about in this podcast is the creative process. And what it takes to make the process process. It’s not like there’s this giant switch creative people throw to turn on their creative process.The way I see it, each and every creative person has a kind of prism inside their heads. Life and life experience filter in through their eyes and ears and all their other senses. They pass through that prism inside the creative’s head. And whatever refracts out – that’s their art. Their craft. Their content. Now, for this to happen, the creative person has to be in contact with that prism in some fashion. The creative stuff isn’t going to create itself. There is work involved. Serious, hard work. The creative process – what it takes for a creative to create – can, in fact, be arduous, challenging as fuck and downright deadly. On his website – Paul Trammell dot com – here’s how Paul describes himself – and I’m using it here because I can’t improve upon it: Paul Trammell is a nomadic author who lives on a sailboat, seeking adventure, solitude, and creativity, soaking up natural beauty outside the boat, and delving into the mysterious world of words when inside.Paul’s written or co-written twelve books and a lot of short stories and poetry. He’s a podcaster, too – which is how we first encountered each other. And, like me, he’s a man keenly aware of the actual Life’s Journey he’s on. As you’ll hear, it took Paul a while to find his most productive creative self. I can relate.There were long roads that led to dead ends. There was alcoholism and a little too much partying. And then, Paul more or less stumbled onto the thing that ultimately brought him true happiness. It’s not like Paul found a shortcut to something. That wasn’t the case at all. He’s always been a creative hell bent on creating. Before it was podcasting and writing, he poured himself into music. All the way. But, I don’t think it brought him anything like his present happiness.It wasn’t until adventure – a life of surfing and sailing and truly living off the grid because you’re in the middle of the ocean – took hold of Paul. His life became the necessary component the prism inside his head needed to switch on. In a weird way, in addition to being a writer, a poet and a podcaster, Paul’s a performance artist, too.How else would you describe a creative whose adventurous life is the source of his art? If he’s not adventuring, he’s not creating. Sometimes – maybe oftentimes – in a creative life, the creative has to risk literally everything to create their best art. That’s Paul Trammel. Sailing to the edge.Please support us via our PATREON PAGE - patreon.com/TheHowNOTToMakeAMoviePodcastFanPage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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