Returning to the pod this week is Oscar Pavlove, who wanted to discuss his all-time favorite film, Mirror, directed by Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky.

Returning to the pod this week is my movie theatergoing partner-in-crime Graham Cannon, who selected Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jaws from 1975.

Featured in this episode:

Bilge Ebiri's oral history of Spielberg

U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue

The Jaws Log

Jaws exhibit at Academy Museum

Two-time opening interviewee Marco Marquez returns to the pod to discuss the 1988 film, Coming to America.

Featured in this episode:

Will Smith Oscar speech

⁠You've Got Mail/The Godfather⁠

Siskel & Ebert on Coming to America

Jason Bailey on Coming to America in 2018

First-time guest Jillian Leiby joins the show to discuss Autumn de Wilde's debut feature, Emma., from 2020.

Featured in this episode:

LA Times feature on Autumn de Wilde

⁠Chicago International Film Festival⁠

JagWire movie reviews from 2015

Sheila O'Malley's review

Persuasion (2022) trailer

This week I welcome longtime friend Terrell Henderson back on the pod to talk about Ryan Coogler's 2025 film, Sinners.

Featured in this episode:

Guy in the Chair Reacts on TikTok

⁠Ryan Coogler breaking down film formats with Kodak⁠

Coogler/Christopher Nolan post-screening Q&A

Michael B. Jordan's Oscar speech

Ryan Coogler's Oscar speech

Autumn Durald Arkapaw Oscar speech

The Formative Films Project is BACK for season two, starting with Mike Mills' 2021 film, C'mon C'mon, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann and Woody Norman.

Featured in this episode:

NYFF Q&A with Joaquin Phoenix, Mollie Webster and Mike Mills

I Am Easy to Find by The National

Ethan Hawke TED Talk

Angelica Jade Bastien's review from 2021

Angelica on Disclosure Day

After all this buildup — months of interviews, editing, a trailer, and 19 previous episodes — we’ve made it to the season finale of The Formative Films Project. And what better way to cap it off than with a celebration of five of the best filmmakers working today?

We’ll look at the iconoclastic Paul Schrader, who’s built not only a successful career as a gun-for-hire screenwriter, but also an accomplished director in his own right. There’s also Paul Thomas Anderson, a Robert Altman disciple who’s leaned heavily into his influences while still crafting his own wholly original stories, whether it be in the San Fernando Valley or 1950s London.

Alfonso Cuarón — a third of the Academy Awards' beloved "Three Amigos" — has perfected the balance between mainstream and arthouse, from the Harry Potter franchise and big-budget science fiction, to poignant, authentically Mexican stories you might find in the Criterion Collection. And finally, there’s Bong Joon-ho, the South Korean auteur who’s mastered police procedurals, monster movies, family dramas, and high-concept sci-fi, all featuring commentary on class inequality. He even has three Oscars and a Palme d’Or to show for it.

While the work speaks for itself, this episode is truly a celebration of some of the best films — and filmmakers — of the past decade.

3:14 - 35:02: First Reformed (Liam Quinn)

35:04 - 1:04:29: The Master (Ishan Parikh)

1:04:30 - 1:35:23: Phantom Thread (Oscar Pavlove)

1:35:44 - 2:07:02: Roma (Stephanie Morales Macedo)

2:07:03 - 2:36:34: Parasite (Jay Tapaoan)

A name that kept popping up throughout my conversations was David Lynch, the enigmatic, reclusive auteur whose films have been known to confuse and captivate. Because of that, it was no surprise his 2001 film Mulholland Drive was highly sought after as a “favorite film” worthy of dissection. We’ll finally talk about it later in this episode, but the reason two of his films are topics of discussion here are that he’s such a singular storyteller; for better or worse, a David Lynch film is a DAVID LYNCH film. The rich color palette, the Angelo Badalamenti score, the surrealism, his unique sense of humor — it all makes for great conversation after the fact.

The same could be said for Darren Aronofsky, another writer/director with a sparse film resume, yet one that’s made noise at both the Academy Awards and in cult fandoms alike. His intense films delve into some rather dark and/or serious subject matter — artistic struggle, biblical allegories, climate change — but again, still very much thought provoking, if not somewhat controversial.

2:30 - 33:47: Blue Velvet (Taylor Weber)

33:48 - 1:05:53: Mulholland Drive (Nat Hoopes)

1:06:15 - 1:35:07: Black Swan (Margarita Madu)

1:35:08 - 2:08:02: mother! (Faith Maddox)