Secret Movie Club Podcast

SMC Pod #148: Russ Meyer’s BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS + Roger Ebert!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) freaks out with Russ Meyer’s kaleidoscope of Hollywood, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and its surprising co-writer, iconic film critic, Roger Ebert! One of his favorite movies, a fiery passion erupts from Edwin, especially when he hears Connor’s more muted reaction to the film! Craig appreciates Roger Ebert’s voice even if he didn’t always share his opinions. Daniel recalls the love he felt for Ebert surrounding him during his time in Chicago.

SMC Pod #147: CLERKS + Kevin Smith!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) makes a pit stop in Jersey with native son, Kevin Smith, and his debut feature, Clerks! While Smith came running out of the 90s indie scene, he’s had a rockier road than many of his contemporaries, but the Team has a lot of affection for him and his first film! Daniel delves into what Smith’s movie9os meant to him as a young filmmaker. Connor and Craig recount stories about Jason Mewes and Jon Peters that Kevin Smith has told better elsewhere. Edwin prefers Mallrats.

SMC Pod #146: Spring Holiday Movies!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) springs into the season with a menagerie of films for holidays from January to May (that AREN’T Valentine’s)! Edwin honors our country for Presidents’ Day with Clint Eastwood’s Absolute Power. Daniel cracks open Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit for Easter! Craig keeps it kosher with Uncut Gems’ Passover sequence. Connor gets lucky with Irish martial arts film, Fatal Deviation, for St. Paddy’s Day AND challenges his cohosts to discover the perfect spring holiday film for a holiday not mentioned here!

SMC Pod #145: PURPLE RAIN + Musicians in Film!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) takes stage with Prince’s seminal rock musical, Purple Rain, featuring a bevy of incredible songs by Prince and the Revolution! Daniel and Connor trade stories about Prince, including how he ended up doing the Batman soundtrack. The Team also jams with musicians in cinema! Craig notes the vast topic of blaxploitation films which feature incredible music (and some performances!) from artists like Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield. Edwin gets mad when everyone can’t read his mind about David Byrne’s True Stories.

SMC Pod #144: Body Swap Movies!

Sorry this is a day late, it has been a wild one. Here’s the description: “The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) was set to talk about body swap movies like Freaky Friday, but they all touched a cursed VHS tape and swapped bodies themselves! Craig (as Connor) reminisces about the body swap movies of his childhood like Vice Versa and Like Father Like Son. Edwin (as Craig) yells about the “one true” film in this subgenre, Face/Off! Connor (as Edwin) talks about a TV show. Daniel (as Daniel) feels left out.” Also, sorry about all the bleeps!

SMC Pod #143: Our 3rd Anniversary + Movies That Our Opinions Have Changed On!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) celebrates the third anniversary of the pod by reflecting on their possibly changed feelings about the show and with a dialogue about how our opinions on movies change over time! Craig understands why Casablanca is the classic it is the older he gets. Daniel’s feelings on Michael Mann’s filmography have shifted in recent years. Connor explains how his favorite movies of any given year are often not his favorites years later. Edwin is a static man. Happy Anniversary, Secret Movie Clubbers!

SMC Pod #142: The 3rd Annual Secret Movie Club Podcast Oscars Special!

It’s the big night and the Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) gets all gussied up for a discussion on the 95th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film of 2022, including Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once! The Team also presents you their favorite films of 2022 and what they’re looking forward to in 2023. Connor adored EEAAO, but has mixed feelings about its wins. Edwin is just mad about the one category that didn’t go the way he wanted. Craig laments his current lack of connection to the Awards. Daniel keeps things lighter than these other three!

SMC Pod #141: TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY + Non-Bond Spy Films!

The Top Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) goes undercover with Tomas Alfredson’s masterful adaptation of John le Carré’s dense spy thriller, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Gary Oldman, which the whole Team loves except for a mole who hates it! The Team also surveils spy films that are NOT part of the Bond franchise. Craig infiltrates the WWII subgenre with Army of Shadows, Black Book, and Lust, Caution. Dad-iel reignites his love for The Hunt for Red October! Connor informs everyone about the little-seen Hanna. Edwin spills about two movies: one isn’t a spy movie, the other is a Bond movie!

SMC Pod #140: Hitchcock’s Disciples

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) worships at the temple of cinema and SMC’s director of 2023, Alfred Hitchcock, by canonizing the filmmakers that have followed in Hitch’s incomparable footsteps! Connor goes obvious and talks Brian lDe Palma. Daniel goes obvious (for him) and talks Park Chan-wook. Edwin invokes Gus Van Sant and his possibly heretical remake of Psycho. Craig beatifies both Steven Spielberg and David Fincher, who he proposes have the same fundamental understanding of cinema that Hitchcock had. The Team also sermons on when filmmakers wear their influences on their sleeves. Glory to Hitch!

SMC Pod #139: NOTTING HILL and LOVERS ROCK + Movie Pairings!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) gets together to discuss SMC’s recent double feature screening of romcom classic Notting Hill and modern gem Lovers Rock! Programmed by Team member Joshua Oakley, Notting Hill and Lovers Rock are paired because, while they are wildly different films about romance, they both take place in West London. The Team also dives into the art of movie pairings, a huge part of programming films at SMC. Connor “shares” some of his ideas. Craig and Daniel wax Eisensteinian about the collision of films when watched together. Edwin makes a startling confession.