The Projection Booth turns its attention to Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970), the adaptation of Joe Orton’s infamous stage play, directed by Douglas Hickox. Jonathan Owen and Rob St. Mary join Mike to dig into Orton’s razor-sharp wit, corrosive humor, and enduring legacy as one of Britain’s most provocative voices. The hosts unpack how the film confronts taboo subjects—sexuality, class resentment, violence—without softening Orton’s contempt for social respectability or his glee in watching social structures collapse.
At the center of the film is Mr. Sloane, a charming, amoral drifter and occasional rentboy played with unnerving poise by Peter McEnery. When Sloane encounters the aggressively lonely Kath (Beryl Reid) and her domineering, closeted brother Ed (Harry Andrews), he quickly embeds himself into their lives—sexually, psychologically, and economically.
The group also broadens the discussion to Orton’s screen legacy, touching on the other 1970 adaptation Loot, as well as the biopics Prick Up Your Ears and Joe Orton Laid Bare. Together, they consider how Orton’s work—and his life—continue to challenge audiences, remaining as abrasive, funny, and unsettling now as they were more than half a century ago.
Special Guests: Robert Mark Kamen, Mark A. Mangini, John A. Amicarella Guest Co-Hosts: Paul Zimmerman, Galen Howard
Sci-Fi July continues with a look at Luc Besson's The Fifth Element (1997). Written with Robert Mark Kamen, the film stars Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas, a cab driver who becomes embroiled in a crisis that threatens to destroy the Earth (if not love itself).
Actor Galen Howard and writer Paul Zimmerman join Mike to discuss this beloved cult classic. Interviews include screenwriter Kamen, Sound Supervisor Mark A. Mangini, and Production Manager John A. Amicarella.
Special Guest: Jim Hunter Guest Co-Host: Ed Pettit
Shakespeare September continues with the 1990 film from writer/director Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Based upon Stoppard’s own award-winning mid-sixties play, the film tells the tale of Rosencrantz (Gary Oldman) and Guildenstern (Tim Roth), two supporting characters from Hamlet. We see them as characters in their own right as they interact with the goings-on of the melancholy Dane, questioning the meaning of life and their own existence. Sounds like pretty heady stuff but the play, and the film, are clever, witty, existential and amusing.
Guest Co-Hosts: Jonathan Owen Rob St. Mary
Special Guests: 
Special Guest: