Joe watches too many movies. He grew up in central Washington, earned his B.A. in Education and Fine Art, an M.A. in Theology and currently works in the printing industry. During school, he fit in a few film classes. He is interested in writing, theology and hopes to one day compose the ultimate Joe Versus the Volcano commentary track.
Melissa has a B.A. in History and an M.A. in English with an emphasis on Film Studies. She has taken classes on everything from silent to romance to post-colonial films and much in between. Her research and interests lie mainly in feminist film theory, women in film, Hitchcock and the studio era. At the end of the day, however, she just loves films; from Notorious to Die Hard!
Wed, 29 November 2006 As you may have noticed we have not published Episode 13 on Tony Scott. Due to our recent relocation we are delaying the show just a few days. Stay tuned for more information. We will have the show up as soon as possible. Thanks for listening. Category: general -- posted at: 10:43 PM Comments[167] |
Tue, 14 November 2006  On a special 2-for-the-price-of-1 edition, Watching The Directors looks at the rise (and fall) of Ivan Reitman and John Landis. With intersections like Animal House and remarkably similar stories, these two directors were responsible for some of the greatest comedies of the 1980's - and some of the most avoidable films of the last 10 years. Join us as we consider the shelf life of comedic films and comedy directors. We promise to have a Ten Quiz, a look at essential films and attempt to answer the question: "What happened?". Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by Gentlemen Losers (at GentlemenLosers.com) (Next show: Tony Scott - November 28) Comments[172] |
Wed, 1 November 2006  Despite illness, technical difficulties and the spectre of Halloween, we're only a day late. To make up for it, we offer another marathon edition on one of the truly great directors of cinema history. Join us for a perusal at the period between 1940 and 1960, when Alfred Hitchcock worked in America and in glorious black and white. We'll look at suspense classics like Psycho and Strangers On A Train and consider "Hitch's" twisted view of women in those films and the masterpiece Notorious. Also, we give you the ever-exciting Ten Quiz, look at a little letter box and ramble on about Freud.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by Kevin Reeves (at www.kevinreeves.net) (Next show: Ivan Reitman - November 14) Comments[151] |
Tue, 17 October 2006  Considered by many to be America's essential working director, Martin Scorsese has created an impressive array of violent, psychological, meticulously shot films. In this episode we look back at the last thirty years of his remarkable career. Beginning with Taxi Driver and concluding with a review of the in-theaters crime drama The Departed, we add our two cents to this filmmaker's legend. Join us as we give a little insight into his origins, essential works, a Ten Quiz or two, a bit of audio, the letterbox and a bunch of rambling that is sure to expose us as complete frauds. (Note: due to the length of this recording, we processed it at a slightly lower quality - sorry.)Also, note that we are featuring a special supplemental recording to discuss The Departed for those of you who have seen the film (which can be found on the website). Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by On Tracy Lane (www.ontracylane.com) (Next show: Alfred Hitchcock Part 2 – October 31) Comments[250] |
Tue, 17 October 2006  This is a special supplement to Episode 10. On this short recording we talk to those of you who have seen The Departed. Yes, this particular episode contains tons of SPOILERS, so don't listen if you haven't seen the movie. If you have, then listen and see how truly ignorant we are of Scorsese's genius.Comments[155] |
Mon, 2 October 2006  On this episode we cross the Tasman Sea to find the master of hobbits and entrails. Join us as we ponder the unlikely career of Peter Jackson as he rises from gross-out splatter movies to the Academy Awards. We'll cover his essential films, throw in a 10 Quiz - with a unanimous anachronist recast - and review his last picture, the epic King Kong. Plus, we journey into the "letterbox" for listener feedback.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by The Gena Rowlands Band (www.GenaRowlandsBand.com) (Next show: Martin Scorsese – October 17) Comments[192] |
Mon, 18 September 2006  We leave the confines of North America to peek in on a guy we haven't heard from in a few years. Luc Besson broke into the 1990's with a few hits, then disappeared with 2005's Angel-A - a black-and-white French language film. On this episode we look at his essential films, his influence on television, talk crazy women and try another Ten Quiz. Here's your chance to say you watch foreign cinema.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by Cafebar 401 (http://www.oortwijn.nl/mambo2/) (Next show: Peter Jackson – October 3) Comments[143] |
Tue, 5 September 2006  How did a guy named Tim come to define the dark and macabre world of skeletons, zombies and monsters? On this episode, we'll take a look at the most recognizable director of the last twenty years, Tim Burton. His work ranges from the kitschy Pee-Wee's Big Adventure to the blockbuster Batman to the dramatic Ed Wood to the, well, kitschy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Join us as we give a bio, essential works, the world-famous Ten Quiz and a review of a great movie. Also, we’ll dip into the surprisingly stocked letter box to revisit some Spielberg.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by Belt (www.beltmusic.com) (Next show: Luc Besson – September 19) Comments[174] |
Fri, 25 August 2006  "Who is Frank Capra?" should probably be a question on any American citizenship application. If you don’t know how to answer that question and are afraid of being deported, we’ll give you an overview. That means all the real important stuff you’ve come to expect from WTD: essential films, a mini-bio, dvd recommendations and even a review of a Capra film you probably haven’t seen, but should. This was meant to be an early show – we apologize for the vacation induced delay.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by The Hypertonics (www.thehypertonics.com) (Next show: Tim Burton – September 5) Comments[111] |
Mon, 7 August 2006  You may remember him from such films as Heat and Last of the Mohicans, but in this summer's theaters Michael Mann is the Miami Vice guy. On this episode, we'll review his update on the groundbreaking 80's television show and look into the vault to see what else has occupied Mann's time since Don Johnson first forgot his socks. Of course we'd never forget to look at the essential films, discuss what makes a Michael Mann film or look into our letterbox. Also, we compile another Ten Quiz and witness Melissa commit Anachronist Recast blasphemy.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by Love=Action (www.myspace.com/loveisaction) (Next show: Frank Capra - August 20) Comments[187] |
Tue, 25 July 2006  When last we saw our hero, M. Night Shyamalan was recovering from mixed reviews for 2004's The Village but still holding a firm deal with Disney, raking in the money and escaping with only minor damage. Now, Shyamalan has switched studios, is rating a 20% fresh rating on rottentomatoes.com and opening in third place. In this episode of WTD, we'll look at the meteoric career of the young director and consider whether he still has a future. Plus, we share some thoughts on what makes a Shyamalan film, our Ten Quiz, a review of Lady in the Water and how you actually pronounce that name.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by Jack in the Pulpit (www.jackinthepulpit.com) (Next show: Michael Mann - August 8) Comments[115] |
Wed, 19 July 2006  A day late, but we blame Joseph Mankiewicz. You may not know his name, but you know his work. He's the sharp-witted writer/director who put words in Margot Channing's mounth (All About Eve) and almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox with a little film called Cleopatra. Join us as we look at the work of Joseph Mankiewicz and talk about his writing, direction and characters. We'll also consider his essential films, review Sleuth (1972) and cover our Ten Quiz. Also, beginning with this episode, the Ten Quiz question #1 is replaced with a soon-to-be industry standard, the Director Score.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by Via Audio (link) (Next show: M. Night Shyamalan - July 25) Comments[219] |
Tue, 4 July 2006  Remember Bryan Singer, the independent film director who brought us 1995's The Usual Supsects? No. How about the guy that the studios gave a truckload of money to make comic books come back to life? On episode 2 we look at Singer's six films, beginning with indie Public Access and concluding with a review of this week's release of Superman Returns. We also feature the Essential Films, the Ten Quiz and a lot of chatter about characters and, yes, Nazis.Theme by Deerfoot (at ilovedeerfoot.com) Other music by The Johnsons (link) Recommended interview: Elvis Mitchell with Bryan Singer on The Treatment (link) (Next show: Joseph L. Mankiewicz - July 18) Comments[182] |
Tue, 27 June 2006  After much delay, the first episode of Watching The Directors has arrived. In this episode we peer into the exciting, magical and Nazi-filled career of Steven Spielberg. Join us for a discussion of his career, our Ten-Quiz survey and a review of 2005's Munich. (Next show: Bryan Singer)Comments[185] |
Thu, 18 May 2006  I know that this is a film-killer: there's a promised delivery and then a release date change. What does that mean? What's wrong? Well, in the case of Watching the Directors, we hope it's just a sign that we're trying to get the show right.
We won't be ready for Ron Howard and Da Vinci-mania, but we are beginning to assemble a premiere episode featuring the work of Steven Spielberg. We're shooting for early-mid June. It worked for Spielberg: both Jaws and Minority Report debuted around June 20th. Category: general -- posted at: 2:06 PM Comments[189] |
Mon, 8 May 2006  Watch for the first episode toward the end of May 2006. If everything lines up, it will focus on Ron Howard just in time for his latest film, The DaVinci Code. We'll find the secret truth behind Mayberry's busiest citizen hidden in a painting of The Fonz. Category: general -- posted at: 12:05 PM Comments[271] |
