Secret Movie Club Podcast

SMC Pod #122: A conversation with Matthew Gentile, director of AMERICAN MURDERER

SMC programmer and founder Craig Hammill sits down with longtime Secret Movie Clubber, Matthew Gentile, to talk about his new film, American Murderer! Matthew shares his experiences writing and directing his first feature, a crime thriller based on the true story of Jason Derek Brown - a conman placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list - and starring Tom Pelphrey, Ryan Phillippe, Idina Menzel, and Jacki Weaver. Craig and Matthew go through the movie’s journey to the screen, from idea to post-production. See American Murderer in theaters now and on digital October 28th!

 

Check out Matthew at: https://www.matthewgentiledirector.com/ or his IG: @matthewlgentile

SMC Pod #121: David Lynch’s LOST HIGHWAY + transitional films

After our screening and Q&A with editor and producer Mary Sweeney, the Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Alex Olivier, and Craig Hammill) hits the road with David Lynch’s neo-noir-nightmare, Lost Highway! Described by Lynch as a “psychogenic fugue,” starring Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette, and with fascinating connections to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and real-world crimes and tragedies. The team also explores the idea of a “transitional film,” a movie that moves a director from one era of their career to another, through the films of Federico Fellini, Terrence Malick, and Sam Raimi. We’ll let you guess who brought up who! Edwin briefly appears.

SMC Pod #120: Summer Break 2022 catch-up!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) reassembles to talk about what they’ve been up to during their three month break from recording! The SMC Theater got a renovation! Edwin got two new jobs! Connor watched a lot of movies and had jury duty! Daniel also watched a lot of movies and actually had jury duty while this was being recorded! Craig started reading The Count of Monte Cristo and did something else extremely exciting that you’ll just have to listen to the episode to find out about!

DEFEND THIS MOVIE #9: Late Period Scorsese - HUGO vs THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

Secret Movie Club Team members Patrick McElroy and Craig Hammill sit down to talk about two of master filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s late period films: Hugo from 2011, and The Wolf of Wall Street from 2013! Both Patrick and Craig love Scorsese, but Craig thinks Hugo doesn’t work and Patrick thinks Wolf is obvious. Craig comes to the defense of Wolf as a hilarious, relevant satire of American greed; Patrick loves Hugo because of how personal it feels for Scorsese. Will they let this disagreement lead to the end of Secret Movie Club and – possibly – the world as we know it?!

 

Check out Patrick at: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.mcelroy.3726 or his IG: @mcelroy.patrick

SMC Pod #119: Silent cinema!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) chips away at a mammoth conversation about the silent era of film and what we can learn from silent cinema! Craig loves F.W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh. Daniel brings up the problems with how silent film is often introduced to people as an academic bore. Connor respects the Lon Chaney version of The Phantom of the Opera. Edwin drinks Strong Coke. There’s also a lot of talk about the American education system and cinematic legacy. Apologies to Emily Brontë.

DEFEND THIS MOVIE #8: DRIVE MY CAR

Secret Movie Club Team members Connor Lloyd Crews and Daniel Ott agree on a lot of things… but NOT Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, one of last year’s most lauded films! Daniel shares his opinion with the critics that it is a beautiful meditation on grief and art. Connor thinks it is long, boring and pretentious. Will these two knuckleheads ever see eye to eye on anything again? Or will this descend into a mutual therapy session that has little to do with the film and much more to do with their personal lives? Only one way to find out! And in the intro, SMC programmer and founder Craig Hammill eulogizes the recently deceased Jean-Luc Godard.

SMC Pod #118: Fan films, edits, remakes and more!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) gabs all about fan-made content and works in honor of SMC’s screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation! Daniel talks about all the Star Wars fan films. Edwin enjoys Steven Soderbergh’s edit of Heaven’s Gate. Craig remembers his time helping make Our Robocop Remake. Connor pulls the car over to talk about video games instead of movies. Megachurches and the Team members’ own James Bond ideas are also discussed!

SMC Pod #117: Unrealized films and projects!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) has a chat about their favorite unrealized movies and what could have been! Daniel is obsessed with Sergio Leone’s Leningrad: The 900 Days. Craig laments the loss of Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods. Connor desperately wants to see The Beatles’ and Kubrick’s bizarre version of Lord of the Rings. Edwin ponders Jodorowsky’s legendary adaptation of Dune. Ridley Scott’s Blood Meridian, Fellini’s The Journey of G. Mastorna, and Coppola’s possibly upcoming Megalopolis all get discussed. They also talk a lot about made-movie RRR and how handsome lead Ram Charan is.

DEFEND THIS MOVIE #7: Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’AVVENTURA

Secret Movie Club programmer and founder Craig Hammill and SMC blog writer Patrick McElroy take either side on Michelangelo Antonioni’s seminal 1960 masterpiece, L’Avventura! Scorsese called Antonioni “The Man Who Set Film Free,” and Patick agrees. Craig thinks the movie is pretentious. Both acknowledge its impact on film language. They talk about the cinematography, the themes, the style, and everything else! Who wins? We’ll let you decide!

 

Check out Patrick at: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.mcelroy.3726 or his IG: @mcelroy.patrick

SMC Pod #116: HELLBOY (2004) + comics and film

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, A.J. Grier, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) summons a discussion about Hellboy (2004), Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of Mike Mignola’s cult/occult comic. They also branch off in a hundred directions talking about comics, film, adaptations, and fans. A.J. and Daniel want comic book movies to have soul. Craig likes the kinky Batman Returns and runs into trouble at home. Connor does a list that he’s not going to retype here. Edwin is on his phone.