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On this special episode of The Projection Booth, Mike talks with author/screenwriter Scott Smith about his latest film, The Burnt Orange Heresy — an adaptation of Charles Willeford’s wonderful book about a sociopathic art critic. Mr. Smith also discusses his earlier work from A Simple Plan to The Ruins to Siberia.

We are looking at the 1984 film from writer/director Michael Crichton, Runaway. It’s the tale of Jack Ramsay (Tom Selleck) a member of the Runaway unit who takes care of errant robots. He’s a single dad with a son and a robot at home and a new partner on his team, Karen Thompson (Cynthia Rhodes). He’s put on a case which leads him to the dastardly Luther (Gene Simmons). Carol Borden (The Cultural Gutter) and Josh Stewart join Mike to discuss this quasi-futuristic tale.

On this special episode of The Projection Booth we’re looking at the 1985 film from director Mark L. Lester, Commando. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger at PEAK Schwarzenegger. The film really defines 80s action movies — hyper violence, a killer soundtrack, and corny one-liners. The only things missing are gay panic and a good dose of misogyny. Ti Singh (In Search of the Last Action Heroes) and Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) join Mike to discuss action films, Schwarzenegger, the unmade sequel, the Russian remake, and more.

We conclude Cinema Novo month with a look at Glauber Rocha’s The Lion has Seven Heads, though, this movie seems to be post-Cinema Novo and wasn’t even made in Brazil. Instead, this film was made after Rocha was exiled from Brazil and shot in Brazzaville in the Democratic Republic of Congo along with help from French and Italian producers. Chris Stachiw and Heather Drain join Mike to discuss this dense political treatise about colonialism.

On this special episode we’re discussing Better Off Dead (1985) from writer/director Savage Steve Holland. The film stars John Cusack as Lane Myer, a high school student obsessed with his girlfriend, Beth. When Beth breaks up with him — throwing Lane over for Roy Stalin, a jock douchebag who can ski the most dangerous mountain around — Lane attempts suicide several times… like you do in a good comedy. Jess Byard and Mike “McBeardo” McPadden, author of Teen Movie Hell, join Mike to discuss the film and its fast follow-up, One Crazy Summer.

Cinema Novo month continues with a look at Joaquim Pedro de Andrade’s Macumaia. Based on the 1928 Modernist novel of the same name by Mário de Andrade (no relation). Some see the Cinema Novo movement ending around 1967 while others say that it simply entered another phase. Regardless, Macunaima is unlike any other movie we’ve discussed this month so far and it might be in the running as a favorite film overall. It’s wild, colorful, and filled with enough subtext to choke a horse. Chris Stachiw and David Kittredge join Mike to discuss this wild tale of jungle and urban life in Brazil in 1969.

On this special episode of The Projection Booth, Mike talks to writer/director/actor Oliver Robins about his latest film, Celebrity Crush (2019). The film stars Robins as a celebrity who is kidnapped by an obsessive fan after a one night fling at a convention. Hear the rest of our interview with Mr. Robins on our Poltergeist episode in October!

Cinema Novo month continues with a look at Glauber Raucha’s Terra em Transe also known as Entranced Earth or Land of Anguish. It’s the story of the mythical country of El Dorado where the events seem to oddly parallel the political upheaval of Brazil from 1960 to 1966. It was initially banned by the Brazilian government until enough public outcry allowed it to be shown domestically as well as in film festivals.

Cinema Novo month continues with a look at Glauber Rocha’s Black God, White Devil (and its follow-up, Antonio Das Mortes). It’s two stories in one as our main character, Manuel, kills his boss and then goes on the run, becoming a follower of Sebastian (the Black God of the title) before eventually becoming a follower of Corisco (the White Devil). Ken Stanley and Chris Stachiw join Mike to discuss Rocha’s work before and after the political coup that changed Brazilian history.

We are kicking off a month of shows discussing the Cinema Novo movement from Brazil with a look at Nelson Pereira dos Santos’s 1963 film Vidas Secas. Also known as Barren Lives, the film is based on a 1938 novel by Graciliano Ramos. It’s the story of a family trying to survive in the scraggly countryside of Northeast Brazil. We join them as they search for a place to live, a way to put food on their table, and how to make enough money to buy a leather bed. Chris Stachiw and Trevor Gumbel join Mike to try and unpack this “First Wave” Cinema Novo film.