Special Guest: David Atkins Guest Co-Hosts: Andras Jones, David Rodgers
Emir Kusturica’s Arizona Dream (1993) drifts between deadpan comedy and waking dream, a film where ambition, escape, and American myth collide at odd angles. Written by David Atkins and directed by Emir Kusturica, the film features Johnny Depp as Axel, stranded between New York routine and Arctic fantasia after his cousin (Vincent Gallo) drags him west to Arizona. There, Axel falls into orbit around his Uncle Leo (Jerry Lewis) and the Stalkers--mother and daughter played by Faye Dunaway and Lili Taylor--each chasing a private version of freedom.
Mike, joined by co-hosts Andras Jones and David Rodgers, unpacks how Arizona Dream bends tone and narrative into something closer to folklore than plot, balancing melancholy against absurdity. The conversation explores Kusturica’s outsider view of America, the film’s uneasy relationship with realism, and the way dreams--Inuit or otherwise--function as both refuge and trap. Mike also talks with screenwriter David Atkins about shaping the script, collaborating with Kusturica, and navigating a studio-era release that never quite knew what to do with a movie this strange.
Special Guest: Paul McCudden, Charles Evans Jr. Guest Co-Hosts: Jedidiah Ayres, Spencer Parsons
The Projection Booth continues its spotlight on rare and elusive cinema with The Brave (1997), Johnny Depp’s feature directorial debut and a film shrouded in mystery since its limited release. Adapted by screenwriter Paul McCuddin from a novel by Fletch author Gregory McDonald, The Brave tells the harrowing story of Rafael, a Native American man who agrees to sacrifice himself in a snuff film to provide for his impoverished family.
Joining Mike to dissect this bleak, emotionally charged drama are returning co-hosts Spencer Parsons and Jedidiah Ayres, along with special guests screenwriter Paul McCudden and producer Charles Evans Jr. They discuss the film’s challenging adaptation process, its Cannes debut, and the complicated legacy that followed. We dive deep into The Brave's haunting themes, and controversial reception.
Noirvember and Shocktober meet on this episode as we discuss Roman Polanski's 1999 film The Ninth Gate. Based on the book The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, the film tells the tale of Dean Corso (Johnny Depp), a book detective who gets put on a case by the diabolical Boris Balkan (Frank Langella). He’s to compare three volumes of the same book, a tome which holds the secret of summoning the dark lord himself.
Special Guests: Larry Karaszewski, Mike Starr, Lydia Kavina, Andrew J. Rausch Guest Co-Hosts: Rob St. Mary, Steve Sholtes
Can your heart stand the shocking truth about Ed Wood? This week's discussion focuses on Tim Burton's 1994 film starring Johnny Depp and Martin Landau about the hapless B-movie director Edward D. Wood Jr.
Guests include the film's co-writer, Larry Karaszewski, actor Mike Starr, musician Lydia Kavina, and author Andrew J. Rausch.
Rob St. Mary returns for the episode along with composer/musician Steve Sholtes
Errata:
Mike mistakenly credited Roberta Findlay for Doris Wishman's Let Me Die a Woman.
Yes, Bela Lugosi played Frankenstein in the 1943 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man but definitely not in the more famous and successful 1931 Frankenstein.
Music:
"Backlot" - Howard Shore
"Bride of the Monster" - Howard Shore
"Kuba Mambo" - Howard Shore
"Eddie Takes a Bow" - Howard Shore
"Ed Wood" - Howard Shore
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" - Bauhaus
"When the going gets weird... the weird turn pro."
We were somewhere around Episode 225 when the drugs began to take hold. And suddenly there was a discussion of a trio of films based on the the works and character of the late doctor of Gonzo Journalism, Hunter S. Thompson: Where the Buffalo Roam, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Rum Diary.
So, "buy the ticket, take the ride" and strap yourself in for this adventure into the savage heart of the American Dream!
Music:
"Combination of the Two" - Big Brother & the Holding Company
"One Toke Over the Line" - Brewer & Shipley
"Mama Told Me Not to Come" - Three Dog Night
"Viva Las Vegas" - Dead Kennedys
Special Guest: David Atkins
Special Guest: 
Guest Co-Hosts: 
Special Guests: 
Special Guest: Anita Thompson