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On this special episode, Mike talks with author Patty Farmer about her work including her latest books, Starring the Plaza and Playboy Laughs. Find out more at www.patty-farmer.com.

Special Guest: Peter Hames Guest Co-Hosts: Kat Ellinger, Kevin Heffernan Czechtember continues with a look at Pavel Jurácek’s Case for a Rookie Hangman (AKA Prípad pro zacínajícího kata) from 1970. Very loosely based on the third part of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, the film tells the tale of Lemuel Gulliver (Lubomír Kostelka) in the land of Balnibarbi, a surrealistic landscape where Lemuel has a hard time finding his footing, literally. Kat Ellinger and Kevin Heffernan join Mike to discuss the malleability of Swift’s satire and The Key to Determining Dwarfs, or The Last Travel of Lemuel Gulliver. Links: Buy Case for a Rookie Hangman on DVD Buy Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Buy The Czechoslovak New Wave by Peter Hames Buy Avant-garde to New Wave: Czechoslovak Cinema, Surrealism and the Sixties by Jonathan Owen

Special Guests: Steven E. de Souza, Kurt Fuller, George Linder, Rob Cohen Guest Co-Hosts: Andrew Nette, Aaron Peterson Set in the distant year of 2017, The Running Man (1987) is set in a dystopian world where reality television rules the airwaves and the most popular show pits criminals against muscle-bound, spandex-clad “stalkers”. Based loosely on a novella by “Richard Bachman” (AKA Stephen King), the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards, a man framed as “The Butcher of Bakersfield” and thrown Running Man game, hosted by Killian (Richard Dawson), and featuring a cadre of killers including Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, Professor Toru Tanaka, and more. Andrew Nette and Aaron Peterson join Mike to discuss the film, its odd production history, and the resonance to today’s world. We also discuss the work of Robert Sheckley and his influence on “people hunting people” films including The Million Game, The Price of Peril, The Tenth Victim and Freejack.

Special Guests: Jiri Menzel, Peter Hames Guest Co-Hosts: Jonathan Owen, Samm Deighan We kick off the first annual “Czechtember” with a look at the most-easily accessible films of the Czech New Wave, the charmingly disarming 1966 film Closely Watched Trains (AKA Ostre Sledované Vlaky or Closely Observed Trains). Co-written and directed by Jirí Menzel and based upon Bohumil Hrabal’s novella, the film stars Václav Neckár as Milos Hrma, a young man from a family of eccentrics. Not wanting to work too hard, he gets a job at the local railway station where he’s mentored by the earthly Hubicka (Josef Somr) and Nazi-sympathizer Zednicek (Vlastimil Brodský). Samm Deighan and Jonathan Owen (author of Avant-garde to New Wave: Czechoslovak Cinema, Surrealism and the Sixties) join Mike to discuss Menzel’s subversive film and the way it plays with “sex comedy” themes against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Links: Buy Closely Watched Trains on DVD Buy Closely Watched Trains by Bohumil Hrabal Buy Closely Observed Trains (the script)

Special Guests: Justin Bozung, Kate Buford, Preston Neal Jones Guest Co-Hosts: Rob St. Mary, Elric Kane The 1968 film by Frank and Eleanor Perry, The Swimmer (based on the John Cheever short story of the same name), stars Burt Lancaster as Ned Merrill, a Connecticut executive who decides to head back home by swimming through the pools of his neighbors, a “river” which he names “Lucinda” after his wife. Along the way, Ned is met with drinks, laughs, reminders of his affairs that went sour, and maybe even reminders that what he pretends to be may be no more. Elric Kane and co-host emeritus Rob St. Mary join Mike to discuss the trouble production and ground-breaking ideas of The Swimmer. Links: Buy The Swimmer on Blu-Ray Read The Swimmer: A prophetic modernist fable set in a fading Eden by Michael Atkinson Read An Analysis of “The Swimmer” by John Cheever by Rebekah Nydam Watch Man Fed Up with Commute Swims to Work Read The Swimmer by John Cheever

Special Guest: Andrés M. Koppel Guest Co-Hosts: Jamey Duvall, Heather Drain We’re up all night to get lucky as we discuss the 2001 film from director and co-writer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Intacto which stars Leonardo Sbaraglia as Tomás, a man who survives a plane crash and who may just be the luckiest man in the world. He’s found by Federico (Eusebio Poncela), who introduces him to an underground world where luck is something of a commodity and the man who rules over this kingdom, Samuel Berg (Max von Sydow). Co-hosts Jamey Duvall and Heather Drain discuss the film as well as other related movies like 13, Fearless, and The Cooler. Buy Intacto on DVD Buy The Cooler on DVD Buy Fearless on Blu-Ray Buy 13 Tzameti on DVD Buy 13 on DVD Visit MondoHeather.com Visit MovieGeeksUnited.com Read about The Mist & The Maiden Watch The Mist & The Maiden teaser (with English subtitles)

Special Guest: Michael Lucker On this special episode, Mike talks with writer Michael Lucker about his career in Hollywood (including co-writing the screenplay for A Vampire in Brooklyn) as well as his recent book, CRASH! BOOM! BANG! How to Write Action Movies. Links: Buy CRASH! BOOM! BANG! How to Write Action Movies by Michael Lucker Visit Lucky Dog Filmworks Read An Oral History of A Vampire in Brooklyn Visit Michael Wiese Productions

Special Guests: Albert Pyun On this special episode, Mike talks with writer/director Albert Pyun about his latest film, the sci-fi epic Interstellar Civil War: Shadows of the Empire (2017). They also discuss Pyun’s dementia and how he was able to use this as an artistic method in the creation of his film. Links: Visit the official Albert Pyun website Be sure to LIKE Interstellar Civil War on Facebook Listen to our Captain America episode Listen to our Mean Guns episode

Special Guests: Brian Jay Jones, Matthew Robbins, Maggie McOmie, Bruce Chesse, Sid Haig Guest Co-Hosts: Jay Bauman, Chris Bricklemyer The first feature film from director George Lucas, THX-1138 (1971) features a world in which love is outlawed and mind-altering drugs are mandatory. The film stars Robert Duvall as the titular THX-1138 and Maggie McOmie as LUH-3417 as roommates who eventually develop into something much more despite the totalitarian regime in which they live. Co-written by Walter Murch, the film ponders materialism, religion, and love. Chris Bricklemyer (Outside the Cinema, Are You Serious?) and Jay Bauman (Red Letter Media) join Mike to discuss Lucas’s freshman film, how its themes would echo in his other work, and how he revised it in the 2004 “director’s cut.” Download the original version of THX-1138 Buy THX-1138 (Director’s Cut) on Blu-Ray Watch Electonic Labrynth: THX 1138 4EB Read about the differences between the original and director’s cut of THX-1138 Read the THX-1138 script Buy The Original Movie Game – Blockbuster Edition

Special Guests: Shawn Levy Guest Co-Hosts: Craig Bierko, Peter Flynn The 1960 directorial debut from Jerry Lewis, The Bellboy, also stars Lewis in the titular role. He’s Stanley, a put upon hotel worker at the Fountainbleu hotel in Miami. The film doesn’t necessarily have a three act plot per se but is more an opportunity for a string of gags. Filmmaker Peter Flynn and actor Craig Bierko join Mike to discuss The Bellboy as well as many other aspects of Lewis’s career. Special guest Shawn Levy is the author of King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis. Buy The Bellboy on DVD Buy King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis by Shawn Levy Buy the Pierre Etaix collection Buy Funny Bones on DVD Buy UnReal on DVD Buy Dying of the Light on DVD Hear more of Peter Flynn on the Dying of the Light episode Hear more of Craig Bierko on the Strange Brew and Thirteenth Floor episodes