The Directors' Wall

We’re off to the bright lights of the big apple for Curtis Hanson’s return to writing and directing with The Children of Times Square, a made for television movie of the week dealing with teenage runaways getting caught up in a life of crime in a grimy 1980’s (pre-Disney) Times Square. Though we found no background information about this movie, it's clear that Hanson took this opportunity to make his own version of Oliver Twist. For being a typical parental nightmare/scared straight story, this turns out to be a surprisingly engaging and compelling movie, thanks in large...

This episode takes us into the arctic wilderness for Never Cry Wolf (1983), a very peculiar live action Disney film directed by Carroll Ballard, who also directed The Black Stallion (1979), and written by Curtis Hanson…and five other writers. Bryan and A.J. go into the troubled 3-year production of Never Cry Wolf, its unlikely ethereal tone, and speculate on when and how much Hanson was involved. We also talk about Ballard’s other animal movies, how star Charles Martin Smith spent so much time on set in Canada that he became a Canadian, and the origins of Touchstone Pictures and...

Sofia Coppola has two new projects for us to talk about: one short, the other feature length. First up, Sofia directed the music video for A-Lister, a pop song by her daughter, Romy Mars, leading to the unofficial debut of a new segment called “Dad Describes Modern Music Video.” Then, Bryan and A.J. review Sofia’s first feature length documentary, Marc by Sofia, following her friend, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, as he prepares a new collection for the runway. We may not be the best people to talk about fashion, but we talk about Sofia's approach to the docume...

The 1982 teen sex comedy Losin’ It put Curtis Hanson back in the director’s chair for a movie that was actually released in theaters (unlike some of Hanson’s previous projects). Today, Losin’ It is most notable as Tom Cruise’s first starring role, but neither Cruise or Hanson spoke kindly of the film, on the rare occasions either talked about it at all. Bryan and A.J. discuss how the screenplay doesn’t live up to the potential of the talent involved, where Losin’ It fits in the career trajectories of the cast and crew, and how it compares to ot...

Spoiler alert: Bryan and A.J. are very excited to talk about White Dog (1982), directed by the great Samuel Fuller and co-written by Fuller and Curtis Hanson (we also give away plot details and twists). Paramount executives were expecting this story, about an actress who realizes the dog she has taken in has been trained to attack Black people on sight and the animal trainer who tries to retrain the dog, to be a sensational horror movie, but Fuller (director of Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss) created a thoughtful art film that deals directly with racism. In going...

Curtis Hanson is finally back in the director’s chair, from start to finish, and it is for the now quite obscure kids movie The Little Dragons, AKA Karate Kids USA (1979) Unsurprisingly, this is not a movie that comes up in interviews with Hanson so we had a hard time digging up any background or behind the scenes information. Bryan and A.J. try to make sense of this movie about a pair of young brothers who use their karate skills to foil a kidnapping that is trying to be a mix of The Bad News Bears, The Hardy Bo...

It’s time for another great debate about…Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis thanks to Mike Figgis’s documentary Megadoc (2025) which recently debuted on The Criterion Channel. Both Bryan and A.J. loved Megalopolis so we’re predisposed to like a documentary about its making-of, but Mike Figgis crafted an interesting and non-glamourous movie about making a movie. We talk about Figgis’s career and how his respect for actors figured into his approach to the doc; also discussed are Coppola’s frustration with his department heads and Marvel, the increasing tension between Shia LaBeouf and Coppola, and other documentaries...

It’s our 2nd annual Christmas Episode! Our journey through the work of Curtis Hanson brings us to the Christmas crime thriller The Silent Partner. Hanson wrote the screenplay, based on a Danish novel, with the hope that he would direct. Things didn’t work out that way but he did have a hand in completing the film. We talk about Christopher Plummer’s incredible and frightening performance as a psychopathic bank robber; it might be his most intense performance as a villain. We also talk about Elliott Gould’s great performance as a mild mannered bank teller who only see...

It’s a drive-in double feature of movies directed by Curtis Hanson, sort of. Before he completely parted ways with Roger Corman, Hanson directed a prologue for Fly Me (1973), Corman’s entry in the sexy stewardess genre. Later that same year Hanson directed a horror film called And God Bless Grandma and Grandpa, but was fired after the producer decided he wanted a movie with a totally different plot that would eventually be titled Evil Town when it finally saw the light of day in 1987. We review the rest of Fly Me, but spend most of our time trying to m...

Curtis Hanson began his directorial career by working for none other than the legendary Roger Corman with the Psycho knock off Sweet Kill (1972). Even though the final version of this movie was not what either Hanson or Corman wanted, it is still an interesting first film and gives us plenty to talk about. We go into how the movie came together, was reshot and retitled, and how the same thing happened to Martin Scorsese with his first film for Corman.  We discuss Tab Hunter and his lowkey performance of a psycho killer. This episode’s (somewhat themed) drink was: All...

Season 4 is here and we begin our journey through the career of of Curtis Hanson with his first credited work as a co-screenwriter for The Dunwich Horror (1970). A.J. explains why he chose Curtis Hanson and Bryan provides some background on Hanson’s early life and career beginnings. We discuss how The Dunwich Horror fits into the post-Rosemary’s Baby horror landscape and how it helped Sandra Dee shed her child-star persona. We also talk about the influence of American International Pictures (AIP), Roger Corman, and H.P. Lovecraft. This episode’s themed drink was: spiked tea.

For our Season 3 finale we’re joined by special guest Jenny McKeown to talk about Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla (2023)! We discuss how Sofia handles her first biopic in which the subject, Priscilla Presley is still alive, how her style is a perfect fit for portraying life at Graceland with Elvis without glamourizing it, and how, much as Priscilla lived under Elvis’s shadow, this movie was released under the shadow of big glitzy Elvis movie. We also cover an assortment of recent Sofia shorts including: Chanel Iconic and Suntory Roku gin commercials, a short film for the NYC Ballet reopen...

This episode we review the feature length reunion of Sofia Coppola and Bill Murray: On the Rocks. Filmed in 2019 but released during the 2020 COVID pandemic, Sofia’s marital comedy and detective story of sorts played only briefly in theaters before ending up on AppleTV+ (though it is thankfully available on DVD & Blu-ray). We discuss the performances and chemistry of Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, how this differs stylistically from Sofia’s previous films, and how Life Without Zoe, Lost in Translation, and On the Rocks make an unofficial trilogy. Also, Bryan points out references to Lost in Translation and A.J...

We’re back from an unexpected break, but before we can return to the movies we must first go to the opera for the Sofia Coppola directed production of La Traviata (or more accurately, we watched the Blu-ray). In 2016 Sofia Coppola was hired by the legendary fashion designer Valentino to direct a new production of Verdi’s La Traviata for Teatro Dell’Opera Di Roma and we discuss whether she or Valentino is the main creative force behind the opera. We also talk about the sets by Nathan Crowley (famous for his work for the films of Christopher Nolan), the co...

Sofia Coppola trades modern cityscapes for the Civil War era for her darkest film, visually and thematically: The Beguiled (2017). Based on a novel which was previously made into a movie in 1971 directed by Don Siegal and starring Clint Eastwood, this is (so far) Sofia's only remake. We talk about how Sofia came to make her own version of The Beguiled, the controversy and accusations of whitewashing, and what makes this movie so different from her previous work. We also talk about the differences between the novel and the Don Siegel version and Sofia’s version, get our fairy tale wo...

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Everything! For our first ever Christmas special we review a Christmas special: Sofia Coppola’s A Very Murray Christmas (2015). At first glance, this Netflix musical Christmas “TV” special about putting on a musical Christmas TV special seems like it is soaked in holiday melancholy but Bryan and A.J. find that it is filled with holiday joy and many of Sofia’s favorite themes and trademarks. We go through the songs and delightful cast, talk about other Christmas specials of the past, and notice how this 2015 special about people making the most of being st...

Sofia Coppola once again takes us on a tour through Los Angeles wealth but this time it’s with The Bling Ring (2013). Based on the unbelievable but very true story of a group of celebrity obsessed teenagers who easily break into different celebrities’ mansions and steal lots of stuff, Sofia’s adaptation touches on many of her favorite interests and themes. Bryan and A.J. discuss whether Sofia’s style is distant or observational, Emma Watson’s standout performance, how the movie affected the real case which was still working its way through the courts, and the cinematography of the late H...

We are in need of a great debate about…Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis (2024). After literally decades in the making, Coppola’s ambitious passion project finally made it to theaters and gave us a lot to talk about. We (briefly) go over the long production history, the critical and poor box office performance, and how we were surprised by our own reactions. We also talk about the performances, the wild, random, and unforgettable plot points and dialogue, Coppola’s big swings of the past, and why the best movies to understand Coppola’s style are Rumble Fish, The Rain People, an...

To help us breakdown Sofia Coppola’s “experimental” film, Somewhere (2010), we are joined by special guest Jenny McKeown, programmer and host of the A Woman of Taste film series. After the large scale production of Marie Antoinette (2006), Coppola took a scaled back, minimalist approach to her story about a listless movie star reconnecting with his daughter. We talk about Sofia’s further lean into “arthouse” style, her collaboration with the late, great cinematographer Harris Savides, Stephen Dorff’s career, and A.J. pitches a Sofia Coppola adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. We also talk about Coppola’s commerc...

Spoiler Alert! The M. Night Shift is back! Bryan and A.J. went to the movies for the latest M. Night Shyamalan experience: Trap. Following Siskel & Ebert rules we didn’t reveal our thoughts until recording began and it turns out… we each had a different M. Night Shyamlan experience. We talk about Josh Harnett’s great performance, the curious casting of Haley Mills, and the not-exactly-twists the story takes. We also discuss other thrillers and serial killer movies which likely influenced Shyamalan, plot points that do not hold up to scrutiny, and whether or not Shyamalan can go dark...

Thanks to the success of Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola was able to cash in her “I won an Oscar” chip and make an ambitious, big budget movie about Marie Antoinette. The catch…she did her way. This movie was booed at the Cannes Film Festival and was heavily criticized for its use of modern music, lack of French accents, and breaking from the traditional biopic format. However, it now seems that Sofia’s Marie Antoinette may have just been ahead of its time. Bryan and A.J. discuss the great cast, Coppola’s unique approach to a notorious historical...

Bryan and A.J are enjoying relaxing times with Suntory Time and Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation. A hit with the critics, audiences, and the box office, this offbeat indie comedy earned 4 Oscar nominations (winning only 1 for Sofia Coppola’s screenplay), and more than 20 years later still provides us with a lot to talk about. We discuss Bill Murray’s career in the 90’s and his indie comeback, Scarlett Johansson’s breakout performance, the similarities between Sofia’s Lost in Translation and Spike Jonze’s Her (2013), and, of course, the 2003 Oscars. Tangents include: Bryan...

Sofia Coppola’s debut feature, The Virgin Suicides (2000), certainly stood out from other movies about teenagers when it was released and remains just as enigmatic today giving us a lot to talk about. Bryan and A.J. discuss the movie’s background (including the Making Of, directed by Sofia’s mother, the late Eleanor Coppola), its arthouse approach to teenagers on film, the great performances from Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnet, and Giovanni Ribisi’s moody, pensive narration. Other discussion points include: the original music by the band Air, similarities to Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), and the peculiar list that is Cahie...

At long last we arrive at Francis Coppola’s (as of now) most recently released film, Twixt (2011) and close out season 2. We discuss Coppola’s return to the horror genre, the great, eerie dream sequences, what aspects of Twixt remind us of the films of Coppola’s early mentor, Roger Corman, and how this is a surprisingly personal film for Coppola. We also pick out all of the references to Edgar Allan Poe and to other Coppola movies. Then we review Coppola’s recent re-edit of Twixt titled B’twixt Now and Sunrise: The Authentic Cut, which we thought was called...

The second of Francis Coppola’s late career indie films is perhaps one of his least seen and least talked about films, Tetro (2009). There isn’t much plot but a lot happens in this surprising and lively black and white movie about a teenager tracking down his long lost brother. We found plenty to talk about from the cast (Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdu), screenplay, and cinematography to the valuable input of editor Walter Murch and the possible (but unlikely) parallels to Coppola’s own career and family. We also talk about other films that directly or indirectly influe...

On this hot, humid summer day, Bryan and A.J. discuss Francis Coppola’s return to the director’s chair after a decade away, Youth Without Youth (2007). This thematically ambitious, low-key arthouse film about an elderly man who regains his youth, and supernatural powers of sorts, after being struck by lightning is not only a curious choice for a comeback but also marks the beginning of a distinct career phase for Coppola. We talk about the beginning of Coppola’s late career indie phase, what is interesting and what is confusing about this movie, the performances of Tim Roth and Br...

A peculiar grab-bag episode for a peculiar time in Francis Coppola’s career. After The Rainmaker Coppola would not direct another movie for 10 years but he was involved in the post-production of not one but two movies released in 2000: The Fantasticks, based on a long running musical, and the quasi erotic sci-fi thriller, Supernova, starring James Spader and Angela Bassett. Coppola acted as a sort of post production supervisor/fixer for the two troubled productions which their studio, MGM, was skeptical of at best. Bryan and A.J. go over what background they could find on each film and di...

A Knock at the Cabin from M. Night Shyamalan brings us out of hiatus and we return to being The M. Night Shift to discuss his latest horror/thriller. Bryan and A.J. talk about what works (stylistic choices, the cinematography, but most of all Dave Bautista’s excellent performance), what doesn’t work (nearly everything else), and how Shyamalan put his stamp on yet another adaptation. Naturally, we get into major spoilers and compare the ending of the movie to the very different ending of the novel. We also talk about “cabin” movies as genre and A.J. eventual...

This episode we are joined by special guest Andras Jones (of Radio8ball and co-host of The World is Wrong podcast, along with Bryan) to discuss Francis Coppola’s adaptation of John Grisham’s The Rainmaker (1997). More than just a courtroom drama, this overlooked entry in Coppola’s filmography represents the end of a chapter for Coppola’s Hollywood career and provides a lot to discuss. We begin by going through the works of John Grisham on film, how they changed the legal thriller and courtroom drama, and how The Rainmaker stands apart even from other Grisham novels and films. T...

It’s time for Bryan and A.J. to make sense of perhaps the oddest movie in Francis Coppola’s filmography, Jack (1996). We break down what works and what doesn’t as this kids movie swings from silly kid friendly comedy to heavy themes of mortality and whether or not Jack, a child who ages rapidly, will have a full life. Of course we talk about the career and performance of the late and forever great Robin Williams. We are surprised by how much there is to discuss about Jack and how it surprisingly ties into the rest o...

Paramount Plus made us an offer we took reluctantly: The Offer (2022), a 10 part limited series dramatizing the production of The Godfather. Bryan and A.J. review the series as a whole and wonder if, given all the other books, documentaries, and DVD bonus features about the behind the scenes of The Godfather that already exist, this series needed to be 10 hours long, or is even necessary. The highlights for us included: scenes involving Francis Coppola (Dan Fogler, in a solid performance) and Mario Puzo (Patrick Gallo), Mathew Goode’s performance as notorious Paramount production chief Robert Evans (making us wi...

We’ve crossed oceans of time to talk about Francis Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). At first glance Coppola’s follow up to The Godfather Part III seems like just a job for hire, and that is how the project came to him, yet Coppola couldn’t help but find interesting ways to make his version of Dracula distinct from all the others. Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a box office hit allowing Coppola to finally climb out of 10 years of debt and its influence is still felt on the horror and vampire genre today. It gets dismissed...

At last we come to the end of Michael Corleone’s story and then we come to the end of his story again as we discuss The Godfather Part III (1990) and Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (2020). Bryan and A.J. talk about the long production history, what motivated Francis Coppola to finally agree to make another Godfather movie, and speculate on what really makes this sequel stand apart so much. We also review Coppola’s recent re-edit of the movie, titled Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. Of course...

Francis Coppola closed out the 1980’s with a contribution to the omnibus film New York Stories, along with Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. Coppola’s segment, “Life Without Zoe” has long been derided as the worst of the 3 short films and Bryan and A.J. discuss it perhaps more than it has ever been discussed. We also review Scorsese’s “Life Lessons” and Allen’s “Oedipus Wrecks” and look at where each filmmaker was at this point in their careers. We talk about the origins of New York Stories, the original choices for directors, why Coppola maybe wasn’t the best for this proj...

This Christmas you get a Tucker car! and you get a Tucker car! ,,,and that’s it because the upstart automobile designer Preston Tucker was only able to make 50 and in this episode Bryan and A.J. find out why. Francis Coppola’s biopic of Tucker, appropriately titled Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), chronicles his attempt to build the “car of tomorrow” with unheard of features like a third headlight that turns with the steering wheel, seatbelts, pop out glass, and an engine in the rear (where it belongs!). As you might imagine, Tucker (played by Jeff Bridges) ran afou...

Happy Shocktober! For October (or as we call it, Shocktober) we’re taking a break from Coppola to revisit M. Night Shyamalan and review his latest, Old. We discuss the movie’s similarities to a classic episode of The Twilight Zone, themes and plots that Shyamalan revisits from his previous movies and perhaps improves on, share similar reactions to some of the stylistic choices, and wonder: is this Shyamalan’s best film in nearly two decades? Our conversation includes major SPOILERS. Tangents include candy corn, which directors are also good actors, and Tom Cruise’s COVID safety rant. This episode’...

We’re back from summer hiatus to discuss Francis Coppola’s little seen Gardens of Stone (1987). This Vietnam War drama is about as far from Apocalypse Now as a movie about Vietnam could get. The plot follows Sergeant Hazard (James Caan), who runs the “Old Guard” that performs military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery and takes a young recruit (D. B. Sweeney) under his wing. We discuss the differences between Gardens of Stone and other Vietnam War movies of the era, whether the appearances by actors from Apocalypse Now are distracting, and try to figure out why, despite the talent i...

This episode we review 3 very different Coppola short projects. In the mid 1980’s, Francis Coppola, laden with debt from the collapse of Zoetrope Studios, found some short projects that would help pay down his debt but also provide some room for artistic experimentation. First up we discuss “Rip Van Winkle” (1987), his contribution to Shelley Duvall’s excellent Showtime series for children, Faerie Tale Theatre. Next we talk about maybe the weirdest episode of Saturday Night Live ever, season 11 episode 13 (1986), hosted by George Wendt with Coppola playing the director of the episode. Though it’s clear Coppola didn’t actually direct this...

For this episode we’re whisked away to 1960 for a second chance at high school senior year in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). Francis Coppola was a director for hire on Peggy Sue Got Married, replacing Jonathan Demme and Penny Marshall, but still committed fully to the project turning in a memorable picture. This time travel fantasy that takes the main character back to 1960 hit theaters a year after Back to the Future, which takes its main character back to 1955, but audiences were still in the mood to time travel. Peggy Sue Got Married was a hit with audiences and cr...