One of the most exciting things about being on other people’s podcasts for me is adapting to their format. Mine is fairly straightforward- some episode types have their own specific format, but it’s generally a conversation to be had. The more podcasts I’ve been on in the past few years, the more you see the different ways people approach discussing film, and that is a wonderful thing. Starting in 2021, I began to share these guest appearances on Sonic Cinema, not only as a way of giving you- my readers and listeners- my thoughts on film, but also as a way to share the other podcasters who have welcomed me on their shows. In 2022 and in early 2023, I had a lot more to share, but after my last blog, it occurred to me that I had skipped over one of my earlier collaborations. We begin this blog with that one.
Because it is a YouTube-specific podcast, I completely forgot my 2021 appearance with my friend Patrick Michael on the debut episode of his podcast, 8 Questions with…. Taking an earlier written series to the podcast world, Patrick- whom appeared on the Sonic Cinema Podcast in 2020- has been a beast when it comes to livestreaming since starting to do so, with over 250 episodes of 8 Questions alone, on top of other podcast formats. I apologize for the slight. It will not happen again.
Back in March last year, in addition to my own Oscar episode, I returned to the Extra Features podcast with Simon Watson and Chad Meisenheimer to discuss the Oscars, and choose our winners. It’s always a treat to talk with these two- both of whom have been on the Sonic Cinema Podcast before- and the chaos that ensues is hilarious and (hopefully) informative.
In April, I made an appearance on The Rolling Tape podcast. This podcast alternates major release reviews, news, interviews and retrospective looks at cinema through a theme episode. You can imagine the one I chose. The particular theme was the Character Study, and the pre-determined film to start with, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood”. The film it would be compared to was voted on by listeners, and it ended up being Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler”. This was a rich comparison, as it allowed for not just studies in its misanthropic lead characters, but what each film says about the idea of the American Dream. I loved every minute of this record.
One of the first film podcasts that really got me excited about the medium of discussion was ’80s All Over. It said goodbye after five seasons in 2019, but I’ve followed its hosts in their endeavors ever since. Last year, Scott Weinberg came on to the Sonic Cinema Podcast last year to discuss some under-the-radar horror films, and offered me the chance to join him on his Patreon podcast, Overhated, where he looks at films that might deserve a better reputation, at least their guests think so. The film I brought to the podcast was Richard Donner’s final film, 2006’s “16 Blocks”, starring Bruce Willis. It gave us the chance to appreciate Donner as a filmmaker, as well as the craft he and his collaborators brought to this film. You can hear that episode here. I appreciate Scott for having me on, and if you can, subscribe to his Patreon to listen to what he’s cooking podcast-wise.
In May, I recorded two return appearances for Franchise Detours, where host Robert Yaniz Jr. discusses the different directions franchises take as they progress. It’s by sheer coincidence of timing that we ended up recording both for back-to-back episodes, but it was great to get these discussions down. First up, we looked at the two “Fantasia” films for an individual episode about those experimental animated efforts by Disney. Next, I helped him kick off his X-Men megaseries by discussing Bryan Singer’s 2000 film, “X-Men”, in all its messy, silly choices, and all the heart it affords some characters as Marvel’s mutants hit the big screen for the first time. It’s always a pleasure to talk movies with him.
In mid-June, I recorded a guest appearance on the Fat Dude Digs Flicks podcast, which has three different types of shows associated with it. The host, Andy, pitched me on his Let’s Taco Bout series, which focuses on interviews and personal connections with films, and it was a great environment for what I love about podcasting- the conversation. The film we discussed was Edward Norton’s 2000 romantic comedy, “Keeping the Faith”. It was a rich discussion, and I hope to have another one with Andy in the future.
In December, former Sonic Cinema Podcast guest and filmmaker Nathan Suher reached out to me with an opportunity to guest on his podcast, Back to the Frame Rate. He had room for a fourth person for a discussion of the 2015 Christmas comedy, “The Night Before”. It was a pleasure to be on, and to discuss the film with him, and why it’s a modern holiday favorite. He also later asked me to contribute my choice for Favorite Film of 2023 for his end-of-year discussion.
Also in December, I rejoined the Piecing It Together podcast for another holiday-themed movie. We discussed John Woo’s recently-released action thriller, “Silent Night”, and we came up with some great puzzle pieces for the film.
In addition to that, David needed a co-host in a pinch for his annual Best Scores of the year episode, and I’m grateful he gave me the chance to contribute to that one.
Back in November, one of my good friends, Morgan Roberts- a former guest whom I’ve also joined on their show, Untitled Cinema Gals Project- asked if I was interested in joining her new podcast endeavor, Female Gaze: The Film Club, where her and her guests discuss one female-directed film an episode, and what makes it distinctive by having a female director. Of course I was going to say yes, and the film we chose was Kathryn Bigelow’s 1995 sci-fi thriller, “Strange Days”; it was Morgan’s first time watching the film, and it was a great discussion on a filmmaker so identifiable with male-dominated genre films.
In October, I began discussing an appearance on the podcast Force Five, where host Jason and his guest come up with a subject, and then make a list of our five favorite films associated with that subject. It’s a great concept, and for a bit I struggled thinking of an idea…until I was at work one day, and realized the perfect subject for me was right around me, and Jason loved the idea. Our episode is on Five Movie Theatre Scenes, and in December, we finally got it recorded; it was a wonderful look at some various ways movie theatre settings have had an impact on films.
In late July, I joined podcaster Robbie Sherman for his show, Conversations With Robbie Sherman. There are a couple of different series that Robbie has going on his podcast. I might be on the other one in the future, but this time it was the main series, where he and the guest discuss a movie in some depth. One of the things I respect about Robbie is that he sets some ground rules on not wanting to discuss certain problematic artists on his show, so coming up with a movie to discuss was tough…until I put it out there on social media that I wanted to discuss the Coen Brothers’s terrific gangster film, “Miller’s Crossing”. As with some other discussions I’ve had, Robbie just wants to dive into the film, and honestly, it was great to do so with no muss and fuss. Unfortunately, some technical issues arose which lost much of the recording, so we had to re-record in January 2024. I hope you enjoy our discussion!
In March, I boldly went where I never expected to before…on a “Star Trek” podcast. In late 2023, one of my Twitter followers, Greg Vorob, invited me to a round table discussion of “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” for his podcast, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Podcast. This, of course, required me to watch the infamously terrible sequel, directed by William Shatner. I’ve wanted to watch all of the “Star Trek” films in general, so this was a good excuse to knock one off of my list.
To close this blog, I went back to The Movie Loot to work through the show’s new structure. First, Carlo and I chose five categories for our “assignment” in February. Then, after we watched the films we chose for our assignments, we talked about them a few weeks later. I hope you enjoy!
Thanks for listening,
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
