Last year, audiences couldn’t find two more distinct movies dealing with alcoholism than Flight and Smashed. While Robert Zemeckis‘s film dealt with an all-out reckless drunk, big dramatic plot points, and John Goodman, director James Ponsoldt’s Smashed approaches the matter with a more character-driven and religion-less narrative, with the assistance of the film’s co-writer, Susan Burke. Burke, who also works as standup comedian, didn’t want the lead character in Smashed, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, to suffer simply because she’s an alcoholic. It isn’t a movie that punishes its characters or says with a million exclamation points, “Drinking is bad.” Smashed isn’t grim in the way we generally associate movies featuring alcoholism, but a dramedy that isn’t built around misery porn and, as Burke says, indie quirks. Screenwriter Susan Burke made the time recently to discuss with us the advantages writing a film over standup can have, avoiding dire plot points, and more:

For a television show, NBC’s Hannibal goes to some fairly dark and bloody places. Sticking to the nature of Thomas Harris’s “Red Dragon,” television honcho Bryan Fuller has made a series faithful to the mood of the writing. Will Graham is no longer the smooth and reliable Edward Norton we saw in Brett Ratner’s movie, but rather a damaged man whose own genius eats away at him. Giving Harris’s fans that version of Graham was important to Fuller, as well as turning Hannibal into a “psychological and kinky” program, not another procedural with Hannibal thrown in. While many would wager some of the suspense behind Will Graham and Hannibal’s relationship is weakened by the fact we know the psychiatrist likes him some Ray Liotta brain, Fuller cautioned that isn’t the case. This isn’t the Hannibal we know from movies and pop culture. Here’s what else the man behind Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me had to say about showing the bomb under the table, carnage on network television, and more:

In the vein of recent television period pieces, Starz’s Da Vinci’s Demons continues to approach its old time setting with a serious scope. There are highly detailed sets, big landscapes, a filmic quality, and an intricate story calling for viewers’ attention. The show’s creator, David S. Goyer, went through his fair share of challenges in bringing that scope to television and conveying Leonardo da Vinci’s larger than life personality and career. This isn’t a stuffy low-rent take on Da Vinci’s time, but rather a show that is as grand as its ambitious hero. Crafting that vision isn’t the only challenge a show like Da Vinci’s Demons presents, says Goyer. While briefly discussing the series with us, the writer of this summer’s Man of Steel gave us insight into his approach for the show, the technical issues involved, and being a perfectionist.

Last October, Mockingbird Lane was dumped. The show aired as a Friday night Halloween special with a lack of promotion, three unfinished scenes, and a time slot set up for failure. Nonetheless, the modern update of CBS’s The Munsters raked in 5.6 million viewers that night. That’s a sizable audience for a Friday night one-off program.  Ultimately, NBC concluded not to pickup the show for a full season order, but while speaking with writer/producer Bryan Fuller, he said the network might not be done with the creepy family from 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Here’s what Fuller had to say about how the show fit his interests, where the first season would’ve gone, and why we might see more from that side of the street:

You’re going to need some foam core, a few Jeeps and some black-tinted KY jelly. Such is the glamour of the filmmaking business. With Jurassic Park in theaters again, renowned special effects artist Shannon Shea joins us to talk about what it was like building dinosaurs and being on set for the Steven Spielberg picture. He was also nice enough to share some very rare behind-the-scenes pictures (and a dramatic reading of a scripted scene that never made the film). For more from us on a daily basis, follow the show (@brokenprojector), Geoff (@drgmlatulippe) and Scott (@scottmbeggs) on the Twitter. And, as always, we welcome your feedback. Download Episode #13 Directly Or subscribe Through iTunes

Sometimes Dallas Roberts ends up being more than two people in a 36-hour period. Like most actors, he’s used to switching between who he is without the cameras rolling to who he is when zombies are outside your blissful gated community, but he’s also a busy man who juggles just about every kind of acting work there is. Sometimes that means waking up one morning to play one role and waking up the next to play another. He’s made an impact in film and television over the past decade (most recently as the weak-livered Milton Mamet on The Walking Dead), and he’s also seen his fair share of the Off-Broadway stage.  Now that the third season of AMC’s undead apocalypse is over, Roberts will hit the big screen next in Shadow People and then (most likely) later this year with Dallas Buyers Club. No doubt he’ll be keeping more irons in the fire in the meantime. Fortunately, we were able to grab a few of his free minutes to talk about his goals as an actor and for him to explain the best place to go if you become a zombie.

Brian De Palma’s classic, and best film, Blow Out, isn’t the most obvious inspiration for co-writer/director Scott Derrickson‘s Sinister. They’re in different genres all together, but both focus on two characters dealing with failure who find themselves reduced to sitting alone in a room trying to figure out a plot that is bigger than they ever would’ve imagined. What is obvious about Sinister is its level of accessibility. The movie is never extreme with its scares, never relies on cringe-inducing carnage, and is straight-forward in its plotting, all of which probably helped make it a box-office success late last year. Speaking with Derrickson via email for the film’s Blu-ray release, that simplicity is entirely what he aimed for — making a horror movie for everyone. Here’s what else Derrickson had to say about creating the look of Sinister with the Alexa camera, Blow Out and working with child actors: 

Most of us don’t remember the days when there were only three television channels (ABC, CBS, and NBC) producing a limited amount of programming. We grew up in the age of cable television with a new channel popping up every few months and more and more new programming available at the click of a remote control button. And just when we thought we couldn’t get any more cable channels, companies like Hulu and Netflix have thrown their hats into the original programming ring with shows like the former’s Fresh Meat and Prisoners of War and the latter’s House of Cards. Now DirecTV is getting in on the action with their first original show, Rogue, premiering next week on DirecTV’s Audience Network. Rogue tells the story of undercover cop Grace (Thandie Newton) who goes — ahem — rogue to dive deeper into the world of organized crime in order to avenge her son. I spoke with the show’s composer, Jeff Toyne, about his musical vision for the show, what is was like to watch that vision come to life, and the process of working outside the constraints of standard network television.

Facial tattoos and boredom-induced improvisation! Jack brings us an interview with Place Beyond the Pines star Ryan Gosling who discusses the consequences and magic of making mistakes. Plus, Screen Rant‘s Ben Kendrick joins us to discuss a few favorite movie pranks, we explore a personalized horror short story prank from author Jason Arnopp, and then celebrate the pure majesty of the too-often-maligned dumb action genre. Body massage machine go! For more from us on a daily basis, follow Ben (@benkendrick), Jason (@jasonarnopp), Jack (@jackgi), the show (@brokenprojector), Geoff (@drgmlatulippe) and Scott (@scottmbeggs) on the Twitter. And, as always, we welcome your feedback. Download Episode #12 Directly Or subscribe Through iTunes

Ryan Gosling seems to have a perfect love triangle going on. With Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) and Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), he couldn’t ask for better collaborators. Refn and Gosling made The Driver an instant icon of a character while Cianfrance and Gosling delivered on one of the most critically acclaimed films in the past few years with Blue Valentine. Obviously those filmmakers are people one would to surrounded themselves with after such positive experiences, which is exactly what Gosling has done. With Derek Cianfrance’s followup to Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines, Gosling continues to work in an environment that allows for big gambles. Those gambles include ridiculous facial tattoos and other foolish decisions that Cianfrance made Gosling live with. Here’s what the actor had to say about his directorial partnerships, being open to mistakes, and his upcoming directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster.

Freda Kelly is one of the unsung chapters of Beatles history. One of few surviving members of the band’s inner circle, Kelly became the Beatles secretary, head of the fan club, and Brian Epstein’s personal assistant shortly after seeing them live in Liverpool in 1961. As a fan who became in charge of the fan club, Kelly, more so than anybody attached to the Beatles, could speak authoritatively about the band as well as the nature of Beatlemania. Ryan White’s documentary Good Ol’ Freda is a wonderful testament by and character study of a woman who had been, up until now, one of the quietest members of the Beatles community. It’s a piece of Beatles history we didn’t know we were missing. I had the pleasure of speaking with Kelly a few days after the film’s premiere at SXSW, and here’s what she had to share about her history with the most popular band of all time.

“Yeah, yeah, a Veronica Mars movie is getting made. That’s nice and all, but what about a Pushing Daisies movie?” is hopefully what some of you thought after Mars creator Rob Thomas reached his Kickstarter quota. Thomas’s campaign has almost raised over double its $2m required, and it’ll make even more money before its 30 days are up. You know what Rob Thomas should do with some of that spare change? Give it to Bryan Fuller to make a Pushing Daisies movie. Who wouldn’t want to do that? Based on what a Pushing Daisies movie would need to come to fruition, that million or so would come in handy. We recently spoke with the show’s creator, Bryan Fuller, about what it would take to make this film happen via crowdfunding. It’s still only a possibility, but Fuller has the makings of a plan that comes complete with some serious challenges and a directorial ally.

“Poetry” and “video games” aren’t two sensibilities we see meshed together in cinema often. Harmony Korine, perhaps one of the most divisive figures in the indie world of the past two decades, set out to do just that: make a poetic video game. When we spoke to him for his crime comedy, Spring Breakers, he told us how he wanted his movie to have the immersive quality of a game, where the viewer is actively participating. Based on the film’s reactions, both positive and negative, Korine definitely avoided anything coming close to a passive experience. Here’s what else the writer and director of Spring Breakers had to say about his latest work:

Good Ol’ Freda, an engrossing character study of Freda Kelly – the Beatles’ secretary, head of the fan club, and living time capsule of Beatlemania – is only Ryan White’s second feature documentary, but he’s already making a name for himself in the world of non-fiction. His first film, Pelada, premiered at SXSW in 2010, and he’s already hard at work on his third film, one that focuses on the lawsuit challenging California’s controversial Proposition 8 making its way to the Supreme Court. During SXSW, I sat down to talk with White and producer Kathy McCabe about the difficulties and surprises of documentary filmmaking, especially when it comes to the Beatles.

Unlike a lot of actors, Aaron Eckhart maintains a great balance of starring in indies and blockbusters – muse to Neil LaBute, he appeared in his films In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors as well as starring as Harvey “Two Face” Dent in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster The Dark Knight. He also has a chin dimple that rivals Cary Grant’s, which can never be a bad thing. For his latest film, Olympus Has Fallen (directed by Antoine Fuqua), Eckhart gets back into blockbuster mode as the recently widowed President Asher, who is held hostage in the White House by a terrorist group. While his former Secret Service Agent/boxing buddy Mike (Gerard Butler) infiltrates the White House in hopes of saving the day, the President never backs down, even while being held hostage. Eckhart talked with us about his everyman approach to playing the President, the fallout of his character in The Dark Knight, potential upcoming collaborations with LaBute, and a possible name for his autobiography.

Films noir, crime novels and detective stories all have a long history of unlikable characters that we cheer for. Bad guys doing good work. Flawed heroes who always know the right line to say and the right time to offer a lady a light. Agatha Christie this isn’t, and this week we’re getting our hands dirty by talking with Killing Them Softly director Andrew Dominik about violence and “Seduction of the Innocent” author Max Allan Collins about the history of the genre. He’ll offer the best films noir for new fans to start with, and then Geoff and I will discuss how to write unlikable characters with Chinatown in our sites. For more from us on a daily basis, follow the show (@brokenprojector), Geoff (@drgmlatulippe) and Scott (@scottmbeggs) on the Twitter. And, as always, we welcome your feedback. Download Episode #11 Directly Or subscribe Through iTunes

Gerard Butler has rocked out to Andrew Lloyd Weber jams in The Phantom of the Opera. He had movie audiences screaming “This is Sparta!” And he’s also played his fair share of romantic comedy leads. Though Butler tests his boundaries in his latest film Olympus Has Fallen, both producing the film and starring as Mike Banning, a former Secret Service Agent who pretty much single-handedly takes on a group of terrorists who have hijacked the White House. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Olympus Has Fallen chronicles Mike’s journey as he makes the choice of saving the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart) instead of the First Lady (Ashley Judd) when they get into a car crash one snowy evening. Six months later, Mike is no longer in the Secret Service, but he finds himself back in action when the White House is taken over, and he seems to be the only man to take care of business. Butler sat down with us to chat about the extensive research that he put into the film, as well as whether or not he would try his hand at starring in another musical, and what it was like to tackle Shakespeare in Coriolanus.

Director Antoine Fuqua first came into the public’s consciousness with Training Day, a powerhouse film that garnered Denzel Washington an Oscar and gave moviegoers a lot of usable quotes for years to come (e.g. the vitriolic  ”King Kong ain’t got shit on me!”). Though, Fuqua has continued to make his mark by directing films like King Arthur and Brooklyn’s Finest, bringing grit and much needed momentum to the action genre. Like Training Day, Fuqua’s latest film, Olympus Has Fallen, is a battle of good versus evil as the White House is held hostage by a large group of terrorists, with the dashing young President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) inside. Thankfully, devoted former Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is around to try to thwart these evil forces. He has something to prove, since six months ago he saved the President from a car crash while the First Lady (Ashley Judd) perished. Fuqua took some time out to chat with us about the research involved in making the film (which might have included playing with action figures), how he cut his teeth directing music videos, and why he thinks Training Day still resonates today.

Playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker Neil LaBute‘s stories aren’t for the faint of heart. They can be grueling in their dark humor, awkwardness and characters who will go as far as they have to for their own gain. Some Girl(s), which LaBute scripted from his own stage play, recently made its premiere at SXSW and sits comfortably in the gut-punching world his fans have come to love. The lead of the film, the Man (Adam Brody), is a selfish, narcissistic writer who isn’t afraid of embarrassing others with his stories. According to LaBute, he himself isn’t that kind of man, and none of his personal life sneaks into his work. The writer and director of In the Company of Men, The Shape of Things, and others creates from his imagination, choosing not to pirate from his own life or others. When we see the protagonist of Some Girl(s) doing so, it makes for an annoyingly oblivious character, but as LaBute tells us, he never sets out to annoy the audience with his conniving. The writer of Some Girl(s) was kind enough to speak with us at great length about those uncomfortable stories he’s famous for, how The Wickerman isn’t based on his life, and more about his process:

You’re Next caused up quite a stir at last year’s Fantastic Fest. The movie was swiftly picked up for distribution by Lionsgate after receiving stellar reviews, one of which came from our own Scott Beggs, who described the movie as, “pure horror bliss, delivering an engaging group of characters, a badass chick, some iconic masks to add to the collection, and a new twist on slashers.” Rob wasn’t quite as taken with the film, but one thing is for sure, You’re Next is packed with horror images and a song that’ll stick with audiences. While at SXSW, we spoke with the director of You’re Next, Adam Wingard, about those memorable masks, finding its theme song and getting to direct fellow horror directors: