Megan Park is an up and coming filmmaker. After a lengthy career as an actress, she has now directed two films: The Fallout and My Old Ass. We saw My Old Ass on some top ten lists last year and the level of praise from Chris Columbus had us intrigued:

"“My Old Ass” is an instant classic, this generation’s “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Over the past decade, I’ve witnessed a handful of young filmmakers with this kind of extraordinary promise. Megan, along with directors like Ryan Coogler and Robert Eggers, is a crucial component of our cinematic future. Yet she expertly acknowledges the inspiration of our celluloid past, proudly walking in the footsteps of Billy Wilder, Elaine May and John Hughes."

In this episode we review Park's first two films, assess coming of age stories from our youth, and consider whether Park will be a future auteur (or maybe she already is).

As always let us know what we got wrong (or right) at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://variety.com/lists/christopher-nolan-gladiator-2-michael-mann-barry-jenkins/inside-out-2/

https://deadline.com/2025/01/megan-park-drama-sterling-point-series-order-prime-video-1236271633/

https://www.sundance.org/blogs/give-me-the-backstory-get-to-know-megan-park-the-filmmaker-behind-my-old-ass/

https://exclaim.ca/film/article/my-old-ass-megan-park-interview

Richard Curtis is one of the mosty successful screenwriters to come out of Great Britain, but he's also directed three films of his own. From the modern Christmas classic of Love Actually to the underseen About Time, we will discuss the films written and directed by Curtis. Our Holiday episode made it out while there is still snow on the ground, so that's something.

As always let us know what we got wrong at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gugpWvACiiw

https://thedissolve.com/features/exposition/252-how-about-time-revolutionizes-the-time-travel-stor/

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/hugh-grant-love-actually-about-pain-1235227095/

https://www.these3three.com/home/richard-curtis

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2020/10/23/the-richard-curtis-cinematic-universe/

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63805817

Why did it take us this long to cover the last of the three amigos? Perhaps it was the memories of Babel or a fear of bear attacks. Or perhaps the fact that Alejandro G. Iñárritu wasn't always a screenwriter. No matter the reason, in this episdoe we have a spolier-filled discussion of the four films written and directed by Iñárritu.

As an added bonus, you get to hear Chris mispronounce a number of Spanish words (in addition to the usual French words).

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1152-birdman/

https://youtu.be/t0stsBzS30E?feature=shared

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1OCuKjqUKgbCzko76Qh6yD?si=kFwHmg6jSmWOcmOsTp2vFA

https://youtu.be/qSiNDcOoay8?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/JgP8HkhRwqQ?feature=shared

Happy Halloween! This year, Paul Kowalski is back to help us examine the films of Ari Aster. Come for the dread and decapitations, stay for the unified Ari Aster theory. Plenty of spoilers in this discussion.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/film/midsommar/

https://www.gq.com/story/ari-aster-martin-scorsese-interview-beau-is-afraid-a24

https://a24films.com/notes/2019/07/deep-cuts-with-robert-eggers-and-ari-aster

https://slate.com/culture/2023/04/beau-is-afraid-movie-ending-explained-maybe.html

Duncan Jones has a famous father, but he's attempted to blaze his own trail as an artist. Once a rising star in sci-fi filmmaking, Jones has struggled to find success as of late. In this espisode, we discuss the highs and lows of his filmography.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes:

https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/9/11885594/warcraft-movie-review-duncan-jones-blizzard-film-adaptation

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/viscosity-in-the-early-80s-with-chris-nashawaty/id1525039108?i=1000664689578

http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-892-duncan-jones-brendon-small

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/moon-2009

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/02/mute-netflix-duncan-jones-review/554126/

Sofia Coppola's surname means a lot in filmmaking, and yet she's been able to blaze her own distinct trail. She's a particular filmmaker intent on executing her particular vision. Listen as we discuss what did and did not connect with us from Coppola's filmography.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://slate.com/culture/2017/06/sofia-coppolas-whitewashed-new-movie-the-beguiled.html

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/somewhere-2010

https://youtu.be/1r3FkR5rziY?feature=shared

http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-822-sofia-coppola

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sofia-coppola-rankings-and-on-the-rocks/id1439252196?i=1000495723544

https://www.wgaeast.org/onwriting/sofia-coppola-on-the-rocks/

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/06/1197958330/fresh-air-draft-11-06-2023

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2023/11/9/df9b15h7fdcdq1mwf4uwa8mkjoiz9z

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/coppolas-queens-pt-1-marie-antoinette/id1057714949?i=1000634860682

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/coppolas-queens-pt-2-priscilla/id1057714949?i=1000635510881

The talented Jonathan Sundy joins us to discuss the films written and directed by Don Bluth (No Littlefoot or Fievel here). Bluth is famous for leaving Disney and then giving them a run for their money in the late 80s and early 90s. In this episode, we look at the highs and lows of Bluth's career.

Check out Jonathan Sundy's books here.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://youtu.be/j0CrEhFIH2I?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/WKCLqeh0fjw?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/Jt2YG-T9Njk?feature=shared

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-08-21/don-bluth-career-secret-of-nimh-anastasia-disney

Tom McCarthy co-wrote and directed Spotlight, which took home the Oscar for Best Picture. McCarthy won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The next time McCarthy returned to the director's chair was for the direct to Disney+ Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (since pulled from the platform). McCarthy has spent his career attempting to make films for grown-ups while also dabbling in children's movies, getting a story credit on Up. In this episode, we try to make sense of this ping-ponging.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

Show Notes:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/11/spotlight-tom-mccarthy-film-review/414588/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/awards-chatter-podcast-tom-mccarthy-867386/

https://soundcloud.com/thedirectorscut/episode-8-spotlight-with-tom-mccarthy-and-jonathan-levine?in=ozkzeqspksam/sets/dga