Following his conversation with Film at Lincoln Center programmer Maddie Whittle, Eli returns from watching the series she programmed, Scary Movies XIV, to tell Ben and Wilson about fright, fear, thrill, chill… you get it. Stay tuned for Eli’s thoughts on new films Buddy (dir. Casper Kelly) and Something Real (dir. Evar Anvelt) and revival screenings of Cam (dir. Daniel Goldhaber), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (dir. John McNaughton), and Wendigo (dir. Larry Fessenden), plus exclusive insights from directors during their Q&A sessions.

Links:

The full slate of films at Scary Movies XIV

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:42 Festival intro

09:30 General horror discussion

12:13 Buddy (2026) dir. Casper Kelly

17:00 Something Real (2026) dir. Evar Anvelt

21:09 Revivals

21:34 Cam (2018) dir. Daniel Goldhaber

34:31 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) dir. John McNaughton

42:56 Wendigo (2001) dir. Larry Fessenden

50:31 Wrap-up

Eli sits down with programmer Madeline Whittle to chat about this year’s edition of SCARY MOVIES, which showcases the latest offerings in horror from all around the world. Maddie talks about her relationship with horror films, the process of selecting films for SCARY MOVIES XIV, and previews some of the offerings at the festival! SCARY MOVIES XIV will run from August 12 - 20 at New York City’s Film at Lincoln Center.

Links:

Film at Lincoln Center: Scary Movies XIV

Maddie’s Twitter

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:45 Maddie’s relationship with horror films and the festival

05:54 Programming the Scary Movies festival

09:25 Festival highlights

15:27 Why do we watch scary movies?

19:12 Maddie’s Deep Cut Pick

The Deep Cut team reaches a major milestone as Ben and Eli interview Deep Cut canon director Kiyoshi Kurosawa! The Japanese auteur generously answers questions about his latest film, The Samurai and the Prisoner: how does Chiyoho in this film link to Akiko in Cloud? Are the comedic moments intentional? And Eli finally gets to ask his most burning Kurosawa question: WHY ALL THE PLASTIC SHEETS?

Special thank you to Ryanne Gordon, Benkei Golden, and Amaka Nwokocha from Divergent PR and translator, filmmaker, and artist Monika Uchiyama for making this episode possible.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

03:18 Interview begins

04:13 Social structures and Murashige

05:47 Chiyoho in a man’s world

07:33 Plastic sheet

09:41 Long takes and blocking

12:47 Cinematic influences

15:18 Comedic aspects

17:02 Closing thoughts

Deep Cut director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with a sharp left turn in The Samurai and the Prisoner: Silence of the Lambs by way of Seven Samurai! On this Deep Cut Upkeep episode, we return to the director of Cure and Pulse to look for the director’s unnerving tone, restrained direction, societal interrogation, and… matcha-making techniques?

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:06:48 General reactions

00:15:20 Kurosawaisms in The Samurai and the Prisoner

00:20:55 Comedy

00:31:05 Chiyoho’s version of Buddhist ideology

00:36:00 Murashige’s mysterious motivations

00:42:38 Kurosawa and tone

00:49:20 Brainstorming questions for Kurosawa

00:53:28 Our feelings on Kurosawa now

Fresh off the opening weekend of Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster, the Deep Cut trio welcome friend of the pod Koh Zhi Hao to talk about The Odyssey. Listen to us break down the differences in Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s poem, discuss who gave a bad performance in this, and finally answer the question; Does Chris Nolan make movies for stupid people?

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:40 Introducing film and Zhi Hao

00:09:59 Formats we saw and general reactions

00:40:35 Context and favorite moments

00:55:12 Favorite technical aspects

01:08:46 Phaeacia, Helen, and other details

01:19:54 The gods' influence on characters

01:30:37 Nolan's influence

01:34:48 Odyssey viewing formats

01:44:10 Closing

Deep Cut welcomes back dear friend and frequent guest Thanmye Lagudu to share his love for Indian filmmaker Christopher Nolan (iykyk) and his twisty Tenet. Listen as we all get a headache trying to make sense of Nolan’s (overly?) complicated plot: protagonists, time travel, character archetypes, race, temporal sphincters, and Nolan’s new collaborators in Jennifer Lame and Ludwig Göransson, and Robert Pattinson abound. And listen to the very end for an easter egg…

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:56 Introducing Thanmye

00:09:59 Introducing Tenet

00:11:21 General reactions

00:19:46 Guesteral pincer movement

00:22:34 The bromance

00:25:03 The Protagonist / Determinism

00:30:00 Bond / le Carre comparisons

00:33:45 Climactic / action scenes

00:38:52 Emotional truth, vs Interstellar

00:42:07 Ludwig Göransson score

00:43:04 Editing with Jennifer Lame

00:48:16 Thanmye's favorite things about Tenet

00:54:25 "Indie" solutions / Tactile filmmaking

00:59:45 Nolan as auteur

01:01:53 Nolan male archetype

01:08:21 Hopes for The Odyssey

01:11:43 Nolan as "Indian" filmmaker

01:14:06 More from Thanmye

“MURPH! MUUUURPH!” Join us on a journey through the wormhole along with filmmaker Isadora Neves Marques as we discuss Christopher Nolan’s intergalactic adventure, Interstellar. Is love calculable? How does this compare to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: a Space Odyssey? When does Nolan intercut TOO much? And is Matt Damon’s performance good? All will be revealed… if you listen, that is.

Links:

You can find selections of Dora’s writing on their website.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:08 Introducing Isadora

00:09:59 Our background with Nolan

00:17:50 Christopher Nolan director background

00:21:02 Interstellar intro

00:24:24 Nolan vs Hong Sang-soo, as indie filmmaker

00:27:57 Interstellar general reactions

00:36:01 Editing

00:39:58 Eli's theory

00:42:10 Scriptwriting and plotting

00:46:48 "Filmmaker for stupid people"

00:51:34 A limited worldview

00:56:38 Masculinity / Mann is bad

01:00:33 Screenwriting lessons from Nolan

01:03:44 Black hole / ocean planet

01:06:25 Ending and masculinity

01:10:19 Nolan film bros

01:15:05 Lack of awe

01:20:15 Craft

01:24:31 More from Isadora

The seventh and final director interview Wilson conducted at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival is with the legendary Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang. Wilson asks one of his cinematic heroes about the state of filmmaking today, his methods for working with actors, and his decades-long collaboration with Lee Kang-sheng.

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Timestamps:

00:00 intro

03:42 What do you hope new audiences will take from your films?

04:43 Rebels of the Neon god

06:20 Tsai and realism

07:35 The Hole

09:30 Tsai’s childhood

11:13 Theaters, streamers, and art museums

13:24 Video art versus narrative cinema

16:15 Fruits and vegetables (props and crops)

17:40 Abandoned buildings

19:27 Pacing and directing actors

21:22 Working with Lee Kang-sheng

22:35 Tsai’s Deep Cut picks