Village Video Store: Staff Selects

Today’s episode of the podcast features improviser and dungeon master extraordinaire, Andrew Stanton. He increases the “meaty muscle quotient” of this podcast by 500% with his staff selects, leading to an in-depth conversation of the greatest action movie star to ever exist.

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Thank you for coming to the village.

Today’s episode features television writer, improviser, and Shaun T enthusiast Corin Wells. Make sure to check out the most recent show she worked on, Kevin, on Amazon. Corin’s Staff Selects got us chatting about brutal martial arts violence, the cultural power of music in film, childhood fantasies and magical realism, beautiful billowing fabrics, religious horror, and how falling in love with a movie character when you are young can dictate your entire love life. Don’t do this, listeners.

You can follow Corin on Instagram @charity_corin.

Today’s episode is comedian, writer, and filmmaker Rekha Shankar. Oh, she’s also my dog’s auntie (and our former roommate)! Rekha wrote and starred in Vidhya’s Guide to the Afterlife, her first feature film which is currently in post production.

Rekha’s selection of films got is talking about the power of sisterhood, childhood memories and how they change as we grow older, competition in creative work, feelings of failure, the immigrant experience, unresolved narratives, identifying with film characters, and the “confused girl” sub-genre.

You can learn more about Rekha’s film here: https://ww...

Today’s guest is filmmaker Lindsay Calleran, a long-time friend of mine from the New York improv world whose debut feature film, Caity, recently premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival. We discuss the long journey of completing the film and the struggles of making independent film in today’s entertainment industry. Their staff selects brought up a number of topics: childhood isolation, the reconstruction of one’s relationship with parents, magical realism, realistic fantasy, the trials and tribulations of artistic collaboration, queer romance and heartbreak, and the wonder and beauty shared equally between actors Tony Leung and Steve Zahn. Spoile...

This episode features writer, actor, and social media queen Jordan Myrick. Jordan and I are big-time movie buds who connect a lot on over-the-top horror and action absurdities. Their shelf choices got us talking about nostalgia, fairy tales, big feelings, big twists, movie theme songs, and the all-important question, “Whatever happened to capital-F fun movies?!”

You can follow Jordan on any of your local neighborhood social media sites, and listen to her podcast Happy Wife, Happy Life with her actual wife, Kendall Landreth.

Jordan’s Instagram

Jordan’s YouTube

Jordan’s TikTok

This episode features just me, your host, recapping the 30+ movies I watched in celebration of Junesploitation. I also include a brief review of my experiences at Exhumed Film’s 12-hour movie marathon Ex-Fest, held on June 13th at the Colonial Theater in Phoenxville, PA.

Celebrate filth.

This episode features improviser, filmmaker, and my road trip buddy Patrick Keene. You can regularly see him performing improv all around New York City with his team Duchovny. Watch his debut film Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill (on the biggest screen possible). Patrick’s selections for his shelf got us talking about meta-textual horror, self-annihilation, New York City weirdos, the social constructs of disability, the mundane evils of capitalism, and the need for revolution.

In addition to subscribing to this substack, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also. And if you are able, please consider fi...

This episode features actor, writer, and fellow Philadelphian Betsy Kenney. Betsy is TikTok famous for her Philadelphia ASMR series, as well as her excellent podcast Done with Dara Katz. Her film selections got us chatting about depression, father-daughter dynamics, dangerous drag stars, local theater, childhood memories, and little freaks.

In addition to subscribing to this substack, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also. And if you are able, please consider financially contributing to the substack. All proceeds will go directly to opening a brick and mortar video store.

Here’s a link wh...

What’s this?! No guest?!?!

Yes, it’s just me this episode because I wanted to talk about Junesploitation: a yearly Internet movie challenge where you watch one movie a day each from a specific exploitation sub-genre. I’m fascinated with exploitation film from throughout history so when given the opportunity to explore it, you better believe I’m explorin’.

Here’s a link to this year’s Junesploitation challenge, courtesy of F This Movie blog.

Here’s a link to my (subject to change) Junesploitation list on Letterboxd. Make your own list and play along a...

This episode features actor, writer, and fellow physical media addict, Ben Stanton. Ben is the leader of the Commonwealth Film Club, a group of friends we brought together to watch movies from our extensive physical media collections. He selected five films for his Staff Selects shelf that got us chatting about the power of music, memories on film, toxic lovers, early aughts nostalgia, lady plumbers, capitalist influence in East Asia, and Pixar.

In addition to subscribing to this Substack, please consider financially subscribing, as all of the proceeds I earn from it will be used to open...

This episode features my improv soulmate, Jess Ross. We have been writing and performing together since 2010 and we both share a devout love of movies. Jess picked out five movies for her Staff Selects that got us talking about thrills, chills, sills, and good gay fun.

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or listen to it here through the Substack. Please consider financially subscribing, as all of the proceeds I earn from it will be used to open the Village Video Store. I had some interesting developments recently that are starting to make it...

This episode of the Village Video Podcast features artist, writer, and actor Kait Thompson, one of my oldest and dearest friends that I’ve made through the Philadelphia improv community. Kait selects five films for her Staff Selects that got us talking about lesbians, sex in film, the joys of music as a teenager, the cost of independent film, the destructive nature of capitalism, reality television, environmental racism, 90s hacking, and fish with lips. Please listen and enjoy.

You can now subscribe to both the Village Video Store podcast on Apple Podcasts app. If you do, please ra...

On this episode of The Village Video podcast, I talk with actor and singer Melanie Field. You may have seen her on A League of Her Own, You, Killing It, The Alienist, Florida Girls, and Heathers, just to name a few. She’s one of the stars of the upcoming film Home Delivery which will be in theaters on March 27th. She is also my sister.

Melanie and I talk about her Staff Selects, a collection of five films which cover things like true crime, depictions of violence, the history of movie musicals, murder mysteries, family illness an...

Oh look, another clown with a podcast.

In an effort to celebrate the video store culture of yesteryear, the plan for this podcast is to bring on friends and have them construct their own “Staff Picks” shelf. A mainstay of the independent video store, Staff Picks were a way for customers to get a recommendation for a movie right when they walk through the door. Each employee’s Staff Picks was an opportunity for them to express themselves, what movies they love, or even what movies they just saw and think you should watch too.

This f...