
Hosted by Wes Evans: Actor, Filmmaker, Director, Writer; Todd Sapio: Actor, Producer, Musician, Athlete · EN

We thirst for Curry Barker’s “Obsession” and discuss: Cinematography, story-motivated silhouettes; Sound Effects, revealing story through sound; Story & Writing, obsessions; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.“ – W.B. Yeats Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Curry Barker “The Chair” short film (YouTube) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Jacob’s Ladder” (IMDB) / “Remarkably Bright Creatures” (IMDB) The post Ep 368: “Obsession” appeared first on The Pestle.

We uncover “The Blair Witch Project” and discuss: Story & Writing, opening, ending; Experiencing the original release; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit – all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distorted guitar sound is the sound of something too loud for the medium supposed to carry it. The blues singer with the cracked voice is the sound of an emotional cry too powerful for the throat that releases it. The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them.“ – Brian Eno Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Hollywood Accounting (wiki) Neal Fredericks, cinematographer, killed in plane crash (tampabay.com) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Chuck & Buck” (IMDB) / “Undertone” (IMDB) The post Ep 367: “The Blair Witch Project” (1999) appeared first on The Pestle.

We coordinate with Eddie Murphy’s “Boomerang” and discuss: Directing, Wardrobe as symbolism and as character; Story & Writing, intercutting sequences; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.“ – Zora Neale Hurston Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Love & Basketball” (IMDB) / “Beef” season 2 (IMDB) The post Ep 366: “Boomerang” appeared first on The Pestle.

We unravel “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” and discuss: Cinematography, sound design, creating a horror experience; Story & Writing, opening sequence, respecting the horror audience; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I’ve always been faithful to monsters. I’ve always felt they are the patron saints of our blissful imperfection.“ – Guillermo Del Toro Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! There are well over a dozen “The Mummy” films historically (IMDB) Watch us on YouTube! Art Spotlight: “Double” by Happy Place This Week’s Recommendations: “The Plague” (IMDB) / “Scrubs” 2026 revival (IMDB) The post Ep 365: “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” appeared first on The Pestle.

We serve up Zendaya’s “Challengers” and discuss: Cinematography, Editing, Music, creating energy and fun; Story & Writing, sports as a metaphor; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Luck has nothing to do with it because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time.“ – Serena Williams Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! “Challengers” Screenplay link (scriptslug.com) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “The Drama” (IMDB) / “Love on the Spectrum” season 4 (IMDB) The post Ep 364: “Challengers” appeared first on The Pestle.

We find Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” and discuss: Story & Writing, finding purpose, using your inner voice; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.“ – Ralph Waldo Emerson Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Watch us on YouTube! Art Spotlight: Michael Arndt’s “Insanely Good Endings” This Week’s Recommendations: “Mary and Max” (IMDB) / “The Chair Company” (IMDB) The post Ep 363: “Toy Story 4” appeared first on The Pestle.

We launch into Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary” and discuss: Story & Writing, starting with tone; How budget affects storytelling; Science and art impacting the world; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “There are no nations! There is only humanity. And if we don’t come to understand that right soon, there will be no nations, because there will be no humanity.“ – Isaac Asimov Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Correction: Scorpion is actually a German rock band! (wiki) – my American-centric assumptions biting me once more! Shot on Alexa 65 (IMDB) Using vertically-squeezed anamorphics (Instagram) – “a completely new, custom set of anamorphic lenses that could be mounted sideways on the ALEXA 65…to create additional height” Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Paris, Texas” (IMDB) / “The Electric State” by Simon Stålenhag book (Amazon.com) The post Ep 362: “Project Hail Mary” appeared first on The Pestle.

We rescue Dustin Hoffman’s “Hero” and discuss: Cinematography, revelation shots, exposure; Story & Writing, news reporting, human nature; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.“ – Plato Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! “Network” released in 1976 (IMDB) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Dirty Pretty Things” (IMDB) / “DTF St. Louis” (IMDB) The post Ep 361: “Hero” (1992) appeared first on The Pestle.

We celebrate Ray Mendoza + Alex Garland’s “Warfare” and discuss: Sound design, perspective, realism vs heightened sound effects; Story & Writing, screenplay notes on flow and authenticity; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Every film about war ends up being pro-war“ – Francois Truffaut Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Just War Theory (wiki) Reza Aslan CNN interview (YouTube) – religion doesn’t promote violence or peace Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “War Photographer” (IMDB) / “North of the Border” (YouTube) “War Photographer” full documentary on YouTube The post Ep 360: “Warfare” appeared first on The Pestle.

We bet on David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” and discuss: Cinematography, effective cinematography; Story & Writing, art as therapy, having a goal, story engine, mental illness onscreen; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.“ – Ernest Hemingway Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Cave paintings 17,000-22,000 years old (wiki) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Rental Family” (IMDB) / “Brothers” (IMDB) The post Ep 359: “Silver Linings Playbook” appeared first on The Pestle.